


For The Excluded

by RavensMind



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Action, Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-07 15:35:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 53,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11061972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavensMind/pseuds/RavensMind
Summary: Robin and Raven struggle to put their past demons to rest, Raven's actually being a demon - the memories of her father. While pushing the other to try different methods of dealing, they find one to do together, and develop a deeper connection. Is this going to make them stronger, or give Raven's emotions something new to torment her with whenever they please?





	1. Urgent Awakening

For The Excluded

“Behold the tower of memories for the daughter of Scathe. Each hallway is sparkling with a spellbound mixture of hope and despair. Even so, she retraces her steps for the sake of several bright new additions, in hopes that she can find a proper place for them. Her congregation of emotions watches on from afar in intrigue and caution, too aware of the rooms she passes. For this place was not always hers alone. Now that she owns it, she desperately wants to redecorate it, but is afraid to, and hadn’t known where to begin… until he gave her what she now clings to as she rushes to the newest area of her tower…”

Chapter 1: Urgent Awakening

“Seriously?” Raven rubbed her eyes sleepily and stretched out across her bed before rising reluctantly. A fierce knocking at her door had woken her from a deep sleep she desperately needed. Rising with an annoyed sigh, she snatched her cloak and draped it around herself. Not bothering to turn on a light, she went to her door and opened it a slight crack.  
“Robin,” she said drowsily.

Robin’s appearance jolted her awake. He was wearing a pitch-black uniform with a gash across his side. He held his wrist and looked to her with a tired, desperate expression.  
“Can you look at this?” Robin asked her, indicating his wrist.

“Yeah, come in,” she said, opening the door for him and closing it behind him as he entered. Something was off, something about her voice, she didn’t seem like herself – then again he had woken her up.

Turning on the lights, she directed him to her bed and sat with him, turning his arm over, and bending his wrist a little. As she checked it out, he looked around her room. It hadn’t changed much since he was last here, there was another bookshelf and it was already filled. Something about her room always made him feel like he escaped the tower through a crack in the floor and wound up in a sanctuary. You could easily get lost in your own activity here.  
Robin winced as she bent his wrist inward and looked to her for some idea as to how serious it was.

“It doesn’t look like it’s broken, but even if I heal it – it’ll take a few days to completely mend,” Raven said.  
“Damn it! Shouldn’t have let her get the drop on me,” Robin said.  
“So…are you going to tell me what happened? Or will I be looking forward to more of those cryptic complaints?” Raven asked, looking him over again.

Robin frowned, he expected she’d ask that, but hoped he’d have a better way to explain the situation by now. He sighed and turned to her.

“It’s a long story but…I need you to keep it between us,” Robin said.  
“Why?” Raven asked.

Before either could say anything else, Raven’s communicator rang as the lights on her belt flashed. Her eyes went wide in the sudden realization of why he had the wound and his suspicious behavior. She gave him a sad, disappointed expression and answered the communicator.

“What’s going on?” Raven asked as Cyborg’s face appeared on the screen.  
“We had a break in at the research center, someone stole some blueprints of a new reactor core. Starfire and Beast Boy were in the area and chased the thief, they fought, but he – I think - got away. Do you know where Robin is? I tried to call, he didn’t answer,” Cyborg explained.

Looking to Robin, Raven shook her head and looked back to Cyborg.

“He just called me, he… had an accident on his R-Cycle, he’s being checked out – he should be back in a while…” Raven explained.

Robin smiled a little and nodded to Raven in appreciation, but felt like he’d regret doing so. She just glanced over to him with a blank expression, with a hint in her eyes that she resented what she was doing. 

“Man, I just helped him tune up the engine the other day…I hope it wasn’t something I did…” Cyborg said.  
“It wasn’t his fault as I understand it… Do you need me to help with the thief?” Raven asked.  
“Not right now, just be ready to go if we find him,” Cyborg said, “I hope Robin’s alright, we need him here.”  
“I’m sure he’ll be fine…” she said, shooting Robin an annoyed look.  
“Yeah. I’ll keep you in the loop, Rae,” Cyborg said.  
“Thanks Cyborg,” Raven said.

Raven closed the communicator after Cyborg hung up and glared at Robin. Crossing her arms, she considered what she wanted to say, what she should say, and what the priority was. As annoyed as she was that he conditioned her to lie for him, she knew he had a reason.  
Still holding his wrist, Robin looked off to the side before he returned his eyes to hers. He hadn’t decided how he was going to explain this to her. Fortunately for him, she was less inclined to storm off or blow up over this type of situation, unlike the others. It was something he appreciated about her as a friend and as his second in command. 

“Thanks for…well, uh-,” Robin started.  
“Lying for you? Oh, no sweat, I live for it,” she said dryly.  
“Sorry, I really am, but I needed you to. You think I’m happy doing this undercover work? I hate it,” he said.  
“I know, but after that ‘Red X’ mess, you promised to tell me before you ever did something like this again. Finding out this way is just…look at this situation. If Starfire or Beast Boy had caught you, they would have been all over you about this, whoever you’re working for would disappear and-” she said, annoyed.  
“You’re right,” he said, interrupting her, “I should trust you more.”

Raven paused, her expression softened somewhat, and her gaze shifted from his eyes to his wounds. Reaching out, she placed her hand over his wrist as a blue magical aura surrounded the area she touched. Robin smiled at her as he felt the pain in his wrist subside to a point. 

“Thanks,” he said, placing his other hand over hers.  
“You can repay me by telling me about your undercover mission… Then I’ll help you more, if I can, or… if you even want me to,” she said, looking down.  
“Hey,” he said, squeezing her hand, “I wouldn’t have made it this far leading this team without you.”

The rarest smile of hers spread across her face as she returned her gaze to his. 

“That means a lot it’s…sweet, this actually reminds me of something a character in my favorite book said to his friend…” she said.  
“Oh? Wait… whoa, I don’t think I know what your favorite book is…I’m sorry,” he said.  
“Why are you sorry?” she asked.  
“You’re my friend, I should know something like that,” he replied.  
“Should you? I don’t know what your favorite book is either,” she said.  
“I guess…we spend more time together talking about the city and criminals than ourselves…” he said.  
“…We can do that if you’d like. After you fill me in about your mission…” she said.

He sighed and explained that he had infiltrated what he suspected was an associated criminal outlet of an organization from Gotham. In so many words, he told her that he couldn’t say what had tipped him off about them showing up. Part of getting close to one of their higher-ups was collecting that prototype reactor blueprint.  
Once he was in their good graces, he would find out what their agenda was, and whether or not they were a serious threat. When that was clear, he would pass what he found to his old partner, and that might be the end of his involvement. She asked what she would need to do and he said that she would know when he knew.  
As they spoke, Raven cleaned up his other wounds and had his wrist laying on a pillow until they found a window of time where they could get it in a splint without the others noticing. She was more understanding of the situation than Robin had expected, but she was still irritated at him for not trusting her with this to begin with. He felt better with her onboard with this, he wasn’t on his own.

“How long do you think we’ll have to wait until we can get my wrist in a splint?” Robin asked, feeling it aching.  
“A few hours, we need to be sure they’re asleep,” Raven said.

They sat looking at each other for a few moments awkwardly. She was uncomfortable having him in her room for this long, the whole situation separated them from anyone else and she felt pushed closer to him. He picked up on that feeling as well, choosing to distract them both from it.

“Um…so, have you read all of these books?” Robin asked, looking around at the various filled bookshelves.  
“No, there are a few that I bought when I was at the bookstore last week that I haven’t had a chance to start reading,” Raven said, frowning a little.  
“My fault, right?” he asked, laughing a little.  
“Mostly,” she said, giving a playful smile.  
“What are they about?” he asked.  
“Two are fiction, one is almost a modern ghost story, and the other is a crime thriller that follows a serial killer. The last one is a collection of poetry and short stories,” she said, her eyes lighting up as she described each one.  
“It’s been a while since I read anything, but I like the sound of the last two,” he said.  
“…You… like poetry?” she asked, surprised.  
“Some…don’t tell Cy or Beast Boy,” he said.  
“I won’t,” she said, giving a small giggle, “I’d have never guessed you ever read, much less liked, poetry.”  
“I had an… interesting life growing up, I was exposed to a good amount of culture…among other things,” he said.

His expression changed as he seemed to think of something and she could feel that he was far from her in his mind. His face darkened and to her, he was as deep in his own emotions as she could be. As this sense of him was dangled before her, she wouldn’t press him for the sake of her curiosity. That side of Robin was denied to her and the team, though she felt that it was much deeper than she had suspected. 

“You…keep a lot from us, don’t you?” she asked softly.  
“Yeah…” he said solemnly, “…you do too.”

Raven only nodded as her emotions swam in synchronicity within her mind, keeping her calm as her past roared and nearly blinded her mind’s eye in a streak of red flame. Her father was gone, but her memories of his acts and influence were not. Too often had she accidentally stumbled into those rooms of her mind.

“I um…actually wrote a few poems when I was younger,” he said, pulling himself back to their conversation.  
“…What’s keeping you from doing it now?” she asked.  
“Nothing, I just stopped,” he said.

She rose from the bed and went over to a chest next to one of the many bookshelves. From it, she pulled out a thick notebook and a set of pens. She brought them over to Robin and handed him one of the pens. He took it and smiled at her. 

“This…is just for us,” she said with a small smile.  
“What do we write?” he asked, returning her smile.  
“Anything, but…I think it’ll help us trust each other more,” she said.  
“It’s a really cool idea, Rae,” he said.  
“You really like it?” she asked.  
“Yeah, it sounds fun…” he said.  
“Yeah…” she said, her voice trailing. 

What he thought he had heard in her voice earlier had returned and it carried a certain weight that he could feel in the pit of his stomach. It ran through his body and struck his mind, and her emotions stretched through their bond to latch onto him.

“Are you okay?” Robin asked, resting his hand on her shoulder.  
“I just haven’t been myself the last few days. When you woke me up…I was…sleeping through the worst part of something I’ve been dealing with,” Raven replied sadly.  
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.  
“Later…” she said softly.

The look on her face as she responded banished any happy thoughts he may have had at the time. Whatever problem she was dealing with had enough power to exude from her in waves. He scooted closer to her on the bed and put his arm around her, his injured wrist resting on her shoulder. 

“…You might want to leave before moving at all looks pointless to you too…” Raven said, slightly moving away from him.  
“Not gonna happen…” Robin said, gently pulling her tighter to him.

She didn’t resist or pull away this time, instead she gave a long sigh and sat quietly with him. It hadn’t occurred to him until now, he realized that before and after she got the notebook out, she was being herself – emotions and all. He wondered how long it had been since she’d shown her true self to anyone.  
Aside from weathering a tempest of despair in her mind, she was more than a little uncomfortable. Robin was reaching out in sympathy, she guessed, and while she appreciated it – she wasn’t sure what it meant, or what to do. Combined with how she was feeling and what they’d discussed, she couldn’t relax and she sensed that he could feel it. 

“Have you been…feeling this way for a while?” Robin asked awkwardly.

Raven gave a slight, reluctant nod and shifted against his side. Her silence said more than enough to make him more concerned. Despite that, he knew better than to push her further for details.

“I’m…going to go get what we need from the medical ward. Stay here and-,” Raven said.  
“Don’t touch anything, I know, I won’t,” Robin said with a reassuring smile.

With a small nod, Raven stood and left her room, being careful to close the door quickly behind her. Once he was sure she was gone, Robin put his head in his hands and took a few deep breaths, along with a few groans as his body reminded him of his injury. Breathing in long, steady breaths he felt like the air had gotten lighter in the past few seconds since Raven left. Maybe what she was dealing with was heavier than he had thought.

Glancing around, Robin looked back towards her pillow, and his gaze fell on a small unmarked bottle of pills. If he hadn’t been worried before, he was now. He couldn’t just ask her what she was dealing with, she’d shut down any attempt of his to offer his help. The thought made him chuckle – he’d do the same if someone tried to talk him down from getting too into a case. Raven had been the one to try more often than the others. He was almost sure he knew why…but he wanted to hear her say it.  
Still, he had to do something…

Picking up the pen and the notebook, Robin opened to the first page and wrote. Such a relief that his injured hand wasn’t the one he wrote with. Carefully choosing each word, he wrote a note for Raven. Satisfied with the message, he closed the notebook and set it on her pillow.  
Sitting on the edge of the bed once more, he saw the door open and Raven entered quickly, sliding it shut behind her. She went straight to him and splinted his wrist inside a few minutes silently.

“Thanks, Raven,” Robin said as she finished, smiling warmly to her.  
“You’re welcome,” she said simply, in her typical monotone.

Raven raised her eyebrow slightly at his expression.

“What?” she asked.  
“Just happy to have your help with this and the mission,” he replied.  
“Of course,” she said with a small smile.  
“…We should talk more, if you want to, um…let me know,” he said, trying not to make it sound like he was worried about her.

There was a long pause before Raven said anything, considering his request and what it meant to her to be more open, she looked away for a second or two before focusing on him again.

“…Maybe. For now, I need to sleep – and so do you. The others went to bed, so it’s safe for you to head to your room,” she said.

He rose and put a hand on her shoulder, giving her another warm smile that made her uncomfortable, in a positive way. 

“Thanks again, Rae, I’ll see you in the morning,” Robin said.  
“Good night Robin,” Raven said, managing to return a subtle smile.

Robin went to the door and scanned the halls before leaving her room. After the door closed behind him, Raven turned off the light and went straight to her bed. Hanging up her cloak on the bedpost, she got into bed and rested her head on her- …notebook. She was exhausted and nearly drained by the dark tangle that made a temporary home in her mind.  
Giving a small groan, wanting to sleep, but curious to see what Robin had written – she switched on the lights with her powers and opened the journal to the first page:

“You’ve had to deal with worse; you can fight whatever you’re feeling. Stay strong, we’re here for you. Please let me know if you want my help.” –Robin.

Raven smiled and set the notebook down on the floor by her bed, planning to revisit it in the morning. She slept well for the first time in days, undisturbed by her mind, and calmed by her friend. 

Tomorrow, she would need to be the one to keep him out of his head.


	2. Drop the Case

Chapter 2: Drop the Case

“The ones we lock up, I lock up in my own way. Every case has its place here in this tower I’ve fashioned in webs of neurons. They get as much light as I allow, which isn’t much, but if Robin had a tower like mine – they would rarely be in the shade. Wielding everything from switchblades and grenades to elaborate remotes and reality-bending canes, they will line up to annoy him again every time he combs the Titan database. If he could only get away from his detective work more,” – Raven, to herself as she wanders the levels of her memory tower.

Sitting in his chair at his desk, Robin waited anxiously for the blueprint to copy from the data-stick onto the computer. This reactor core had been made for a purpose, and he had to know what it had the potential to do before he handed the schematics over to his contact.   
If the group he was investigating was from Gotham, his work would be finished and Batman would take over the case. If they weren’t…well, he was hoping they weren’t. He didn’t want to give the case over – this was his city and he would be the one to protect it. He left Gotham for a reason…and that reason hadn’t changed, or called him for anything until this.  
Aware that he wasn’t alone in the evidence room anymore, he leaned back in his chair and spoke without turning his head.

“You should knock…or use the door,” Robin said.  
“Doing it my way disturbs you less,” Raven said, appearing from the shadows.

Swiveling around, Robin gave her an appreciative smile. Raven stood with her arms crossed over the journal against her chest.

“Feeling better?” he asked.  
“…No,” she replied softly.  
“Oh…sorry, I’m uh, glad you told me, but I wish you didn’t feel bad,” he said carefully.

She nodded and looked to the floor before stepping closer to him, holding the journal out for him to take. Reaching out to take it from her, his fingers grazed hers and a feeling of hopelessness shot through his mind. The feeling diminished when he took the notebook from her grasp. He opened it and read the response she had written to his message:

“Knowing you’re here for me is enough, I appreciate it, I do, but I can deal with this – it’s you I’m worried about. This case feels like it might consume you, none of us want to see that again. Please don’t go after this group alone.” –Raven.

Closing the journal, he stared at the cover as he thought.

“I need to deal with this, I can do it alone, there’s no need to risk anyone else,” he said slowly, determined.  
“We’re here to take the risks…what is it about this group that has you so on edge?” she asked.  
“…Don’t ask me that,” was all he said, looking up at her.  
“You came to me. You can’t do this all by yourself, don’t be an idiot. I can help,” she said, getting annoyed.  
“I know you can…but I just,” he gave a long sigh, “I need to handle this mission.”  
“So, you don’t trust us, or me, to do this with you?” she asked.  
“Yeah, well…it’s not just me...and this is complicated, I can’t talk about it,” he said.  
“Okay, what can you talk about? Just the weather?” she asked, agitated.

Robin shook his head, opening the journal and writing below her response. She raised an eyebrow, curious. When he’d finished, he handed her the journal. She read what he wrote:

“I dealt with them before I joined the Titans with my friend, I won’t add to that. Sorry, just trust me this is for the best. It’s bad enough that I have to get involved again, the team shouldn’t suffer for it.”

She looked up and nodded somewhat reluctantly, well aware that she kept plenty from him and the others, but still annoyed that he wouldn’t say anything – even to her. They let the other know more about their lives than they had told Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire. Yet, it wasn’t enough that they could talk about anything. Taking out her pen, Raven wrote below what Robin had written. She then handed him the journal. He read: 

“I trust you. At least promise me that you won’t let this mission get to you.”

With a small smile, he looked up from the page.

“I promise,” he said.

She gave a satisfied nod and reached out to check his wrist, mostly to avoid an impending awkward silence. Their conversations seemed to inspire those like nothing else. She wanted to convince him that she trusted him and decided to explain why she’d been feeling bad. He held out his arm so she could examine it better, thinking of something he could tell her. After looking to see if his other injuries had any remaining effect, she gave a low sigh and spoke suddenly before he had found something he could say.

“I haven’t been sleeping well…if at all. At night, my emotions just rage over possible bad futures and I can’t silence them without meditating through the night. I’m exhausted…all the time. I’ve only been able to sleep by taking some…strong sleeping medicine,” Raven explained.  
“Bad futures?” Robin asked, unsure of what she meant.  
“Being able to see what might happen, or will happen…isn’t usually pleasant. I think I’m focusing on what I won’t be looking forward to more than I should…” she said.  
“You’re…depressed, or…I guess it’s worse than that isn’t it?” he asked, in a concerned tone.

She nodded and lowered her hood, revealing her face, she let her true feelings show in her expression, which let Robin see the strain and weight that was on her. He thought that if she held that expression for much longer, his, or her, eyes would start tearing up. 

“I’ve bothered you enough…I guess I should let you get back to your search…” she said, starting to leave. He half-leapt forward out of his chair and took her hand.

“No. I’m glad you told me, but I can’t let you run to your room feeling the way you do,” he said, gently tugging her back towards him.

Facing him, she gave a nervous nod, unsure if she should stay or leave, yet stepping back over to him regardless. She would tell him more if he wasn’t somewhere else, as she knew he was partially preoccupied with the case, which he was far too often. For those cases, she would often sit with him, or bring him something to drink, and just check in to be sure he wasn’t too lost when he sat pouring over files. Every now and then he would look over to her and talk, but other than that he was immersed in the case details. During the longer nights of his, she would get up to secretly look in on him. She’d found him asleep at the desk more than a few times. 

The days after those nights, she would pick up more tasks that were usually his as far as leading the team through training and other things when he did neglect them. He hadn’t officially thanked her once for it, but he knew she had been doing it for him. Instead, he would spend the evening those days with her, staring off the edge of the roof, watching the sunset, and talking. That had been the best part of their day.  
They hadn’t watched a sunset together for a few months now. She missed it. He missed it terribly.

“You aren’t bothering me and if you’re having a problem, I’ll do my best to be here to listen and help you. The others can help you too, you know that. Being alone shouldn’t be your first or second idea,” he said.  
“I can’t talk about this with them…I can only talk about it with someone who understands the feeling,” she said, shaking her head slowly.  
“Why do you think I’d understand it any better?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.  
“I’ve sensed what you’ve felt enough to be sure in saying that you’ve dealt with something like it too,” she said.

At this, he frowned and looked down at the floor between them. Through their bond she felt a distant pain resonate in his mind, rising fast to the surface and lingering before he batted it back down forcefully.

“…You’re right,” he said, a little reluctantly.  
“Do you…want to talk about it?” she asked.  
“No. Someday, maybe...if we get to know each other that well. Anyway…uh, I do need to get back to work, but let’s talk later alright? Go make fun of Beast Boy, help Cyborg, or do something with Starfire – just please don’t shut yourself in your room,” he said.  
“I’ll try,” she said, giving a slight smile.

He smiled back and gave an approving nod. They realized that he still had her hand in his and she withdrew it quickly with a small nod and a hint of red in her cheeks as he gave an awkward smile. 

“Uh, let me know if you need my help again – and don’t worry, I hid your R-cycle, so the others will think it’s being fixed,” Raven said.  
“I will, and thanks Raven, I owe you one,” Robin said.  
“You owe me more than one,” she teased, leaving the room through the floor in her dark power.

Robin chuckled and went back to his desk to continue his work. He set their journal next to him on the desk, planning to write something when he was finished for the day. Pulling up several files from the database, he noticed something he hadn’t before.

There was a file he hadn’t seen before on the screen. Opening it, he frowned as he saw that it had been sent to him by Batman. He read every word, more than once, as it was now clear that the group he was after were working on something that dealt with a few cases Batman had been working on in Gotham, which meant that Robin had turn over the blueprint to his old partner and drop the case. Completely.   
He growled and leaned back in the chair, putting his hands behind his head as he took a long deep breath. Going back to the computer, he sent the blueprint along with the details of last night to Batman and got a response immediately: 

“I’ll take it from here. I might need you again, I’ll be in touch. Get some rest Dick.”

Shaking his head, Robin grabbed the journal along with his pen and left the evidence room. Writing might help him stop the inner growling he was doing in his head. Then he’d find Raven and tell her that they weren’t on the case anymore…and let her read what he wrote.


	3. Finding the Spark

Chapter 3: Finding the Spark

“Enjoy the brighter areas of this tower when you are able, for the patrol of demons traverses every inch of this place eventually. Even the daughter of the source of all darkness cannot always succeed in avoiding them – and she controls them. Her emotions do step in to coordinate these patrols, though they do tend to point them in the wrong direction. The owner would prefer to have an artistic distraction for these forces of disorder, but there are only so many poems and stories for her to use. It would help if she had someone else around her to engage her more creative appetites…”

A ball flew past his head as Robin entered the living room. Cyborg was trying to get Beast Boy, who was taunting him on the other side of the couch as a green german-shepherd. Apparently the ball was a warning shot. Starfire sat off to the side on a stool in the kitchen area, feeding Silkie, not wanting to get in between Cyborg and Beast Boy. Raven was nowhere to be seen.

“Get over here, or the next one will be in your face,” Cyborg threatened.

Beast Boy morphed back to normal.

“Bring it on,” Beast Boy said with a grin.

“Has anyone seen Raven?” Robin asked, interrupting.

The others looked towards him with surprised smiles. Starfire shot over to him with Silkie and looked at his splinted wrist with smothering attention. Cyborg gave him a nod and Beast Boy crossed his arms with a grin.

“You missed an awesome chase last night, we had the guy down, and Star was shooting bolts like crazy – I knocked him over with my lion fury and then-!” Beast Boy said, giving the most over-the top animated gestures.  
“He got away after using a high-powered flash grenade?” Robin asked.  
“Yeah…How’d you know?” Beast Boy asked.  
“Oh, uh – Raven filled me in,” Robin said quickly, “Sorry I couldn’t be there. Had an…accident.”  
“What have the doctors said?” Starfire asked.  
“Just need to take it easy for a few days, I didn’t break it, but it wasn’t in good shape,” Robin replied.  
“Hey, I’m sorry, maybe I missed something when we were tuning it up the other day,” Cyborg said, walking over.  
“There wasn’t anything wrong with the bike, Cyborg, somebody hit me…I’m sure we had it tuned perfectly,” Robin said with a smile.  
“Damn right it was perfect…now we’ll need to fix it, so where is it?” Cyborg asked.  
“Oh, I’ll need to pick it up,” Robin said, scratching the back of his neck.  
“How did you get back to the tower?” Starfire asked.  
“Um…Raven brought me back. Nobody answered me, where is she?” Robin asked, changing the subject.  
“She was in here a while ago reading, then Beast Boy had to go and piss her off,” Cyborg said, looking angrily to the green changeling.  
“What did you say?” Robin asked.  
“Nothing bad! She just overreacted to it…” Beast Boy protested.  
“Seemed like she underreacted,” Cyborg said, “she’d have punched you in the nose.”  
“What did he say, Cyborg?” Robin asked.  
“Nothing! She’s just in a sour mood…as usual,” Beast Boy said.  
“Now that’s the kind of thing I’m talking about – you’d be bleeding by now if you’d said that to her,” Cyborg said, shaking his head.  
“Is Raven not feeling well?” Starfire asked Robin.  
“No, she’s fine, I just need to talk to her,” Robin said.  
“Try her room, I’ll take care of Beast Boy,” Cyborg said, turning to Beast Boy and putting him in a headlock.

Nodding, Robin left the living room as Cyborg restrained Beast Boy and Starfire watched after Robin before remembering Silkie. 

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Staring off the edge of the Tower roof, letting her legs swing with the breeze, Raven sat holding her book on her lap. She had tried to read, but hadn’t managed getting past a few sentences without feeling overwhelmed by her own mind. Hatred spun in circles watching as the tornado of potential targets swarmed around her like a cyclone within Raven’s emotional mental holding “cell.” Happiness dug through a pile of mental images, searching for anything helpful to Raven’s mood while Cleverness watched, shaking her head as they were held up individually. Bravery and Despair clung to the cell of Hatred, ensuring everything held.

Giving a long sigh, Raven wondered how long she would have to endure the barrage of negative predictions. This had happened before and it would continue to occur until either her existence, or time, ended. During this time, she did her best to sleep through it or busy herself with the Titans cases and fighting the inevitable criminal onslaught on the city. While she had a litany of predictions concerning the future, she had none concerning her own mood – which frustrated her to no end. Maybe the undercover case with Robin would help.

“Raven?”

She turned her head enough to see Robin standing on the roof behind her. She could tell he was doing his best to hide a sad expression, which if she’d seen, would not have helped pull her away from what she was dealing with. Managing a small nod, she turned back to the sky before her as he approached and sat beside her carefully.

“The um, mission is over, the case isn’t ours anymore…” Robin said slowly.  
“…You must be thrilled,” Raven said dryly.  
“Right? Sorry I um, wasted your time last night and hid this from you and the others,” Robin said.  
“It… wasn’t a complete waste of time, your arm is better and… we have something we can do together,” she said.  
“I slid our journal under your door,” he said, giving a slight smile.  
“Perfect,” she said, looking to Robin with a spark in her eye and an involuntary small smile.

Happiness held up several mental images, jumping up and down, while Cleverness nodded approvingly at the choices. This was until the wave of the future blew the images away and left Happiness to frown and frantically resume digging.   
Raven’s smile faded and the spark in her eye was siphoned away, and she returned her gaze to the sky once more. Robin noticed the sudden changes and it made him very curious. He couldn’t ask her, she’d never expect him to understand, and she was right – he wouldn’t. Though he could try testing a small theory.

“So, when were you planning on us writing poems?” he asked.  
“When we feel like writing them, something has to inspire it though,” she said, the spark hovering in her eye once more, along with the small smile. 

They remained for a few seconds before being banished once more.

“You think we could inspire each other?” he asked.  
“I hope so,” she replied. 

Again, a spark glinted in her eye and she gave a deeper smile, even glancing to him a couple of times before her expression reverted to her usual serious one.

This was a side of her he hadn’t seen, or if he had it was rare, and it had the sort of genuine feel that a true image does – when the purest form of the self blasts through in all its fantastic shades. This was just a hint of it though. He wanted to be sure.

“Raven, when you got the journal out for us – that…was your true self, wasn’t it?” he asked.  
Surprised by the question, she looked at him for a few moments. Finally, she slowly nodded.  
“And that’s-?” he asked.  
“…me, yes. Emotions and all,” she said.  
“Why aren’t you like that more often?” he asked.  
“My powers might level the city…or hurt someone,” she replied.  
“I know you’ve kept your emotions under control for a long time, but things are different now – your father is gone, maybe you could let them show once in a while,” he said.  
“I-wh…I’m doing this the only way I know how to, it’s fine. Why does it matter?” she asked.  
“It’s not fine. Well, maybe it is, but it could be better,” he said.  
“Why does it matter to you all of a sudden?” she asked.  
“You’re not happy, but you are when you let your real self show, and I-I like this side of you,” he said.

Robin had blurted out the rest of his reply, and it had stopped Raven from saying anything more. She looked from him to the sky, back to him, to the sky, then off to the side as she struggled with what to say, and how to react. Robin moved closer to her and as he did so, a wall of dark energy sprung up between he and Raven – putting a crack in the roof.

“Don’t,” was all Raven said.  
“I just want to help you feel better,” Robin said.  
“You can’t,” she said.  
“Prove it,” he challenged.  
“I’m fine.”  
“’Fine’ isn’t good enough.”  
“You really want to know how I feel? What I have to deal with?”  
“Yeah!”

The wall of dark energy shattered and she reached over to take his hand. Gripping his hand tightly, she chanted “Azarath Metrion Zinthos,” and they were plunged into a sea of dark energy. It was dead silent for the longest time as they were pulled through the darkness. Then, a deep, resounding, inescapable roaring laugh assaulted their ears as the four glaring blood red eyes of Trigon appeared before them. The apocalyptic landscape they had witnessed before was laid out underneath them as a sweeping gust of smoke fell around them, suffocating their senses. 

As the smoke took them in, the flood of dreadful possibilities for the future of life flashed around them one by one, repeating, ceasing, and repeating – faster and faster. Raven’s emotions flared up around them, each advocating for itself and its own power – competing for their attention and adding to the smoke. Trigon’s laugh would cut in every few minutes, his wishes and deeds striking their minds. A city leveled, a population eradicated, a victory for entropy, and the murder of time. Blood flowed in streams around their feet and a shrill wail drowned out everything. Robin closed his eyes and put his hands over his ears, trying to shut it out.

She forced his eyes to open as she led him to the door of a shadowed tower. Throwing open the door, she helped him inside. They trudged past several paintings, which depicted Azarath, Trigon’s first acts as her father, and more. He smelled something burning, something else rotting, and then the scent of the air on an overcast day. A sense of dread fell on his shoulders and he stopped, sinking to the floor of the hall as Raven knelt with him. He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes once more.

After a second, he opened them to see the sky in front of him, and Raven beside him. Putting his hands down, groaning as he hurt his wrist doing so – he looked to Raven.

“Sorry…you asked…” Raven said softly.  
“That’s what you’re dealing with?” Robin asked.  
“Some of it, I won’t show you everything,” she said.  
“I’m…glad you didn’t. What was that place, that tower?” he asked.  
“It’s a place in my mind. A place for everything I can remember…” she said.  
“Is it always so…dark?” he asked carefully.  
“No… It used to be darker there. I’ve been doing what I can to make it mine…the others and well…you’ve helped,” she said.

She looked out over the river and felt her emotions resume their work in her mind. Happiness had a larger pile of images to sort through, and Cleverness was now explaining something to Despair.

“I’m glad…uh, I know how you feel about this and what you think, but…you should try letting your true self out more. Things have changed, maybe it’ll be safe, maybe we can lighten that place up,” he said.

Raven shook her head. “I doubt it. Suppose I told you that things have changed enough that you don’t have to keep so much to yourself, it’s not as dangerous with so many criminals out of the way. You would protest much the way I did,” she said.  
“…You could be right, at least…maybe I can tell you more than I do,” he said.  
“Are you…sure?” she asked, suprised.  
“Yeah, if you’ll share your emotions more,” he said.  
“…I’m not sure it’s worth the risk,” she said, beginning to shake her head.  
“You could try,” he said.  
“You don’t know what you’re asking for. I’m not even sure why you’re so interested in asking for it,” she said, her eyes darting off to the side.  
“It might help you feel better and… uh, maybe let us get to know each other more,” he said with a nervous smile.  
“And you…want that?” she asked awkwardly, looking back to him.  
“Don’t you?” he asked.

She thought for a few moments before she nodded to him and then looked out across the water below. Her emotions had already begun lining up for a chance to shine while she and Robin had been talking. 

Raven was too preoccupied with the conversation to notice Passion and Cleverness having a sit-down with Happiness over some new, enticing bit of feelings to focus on, until their debate was loud enough that she couldn’t hear anything else. Her face reddened as she stole a quick glance over to Robin before she shoved the thought from her mind.

While he was glad she’d be more open with him at least, he was worried how it would affect her powers. If they did misfire, it could be a problem for more than just her and the Titans. Seeing the city being affected by the same force that could twist the imagination into a real danger wasn’t something that would be easy to deal with.

Nothing he could do about it now but wait and see if something went wrong. He felt her shift closer to him and he could have sworn she was blushing as he looked over to her, which made him smile. He put his arm around her, which she allowed, but she wasn’t entirely comfortable with it.  
“Aww, that’s sweet.”

A wave of dark energy shoved Robin away from Raven in an embarrassed panic as she swiftly stood and turned to face who spoke. Robin groaned and looked to Raven with surprise before he rose to his feet.

Cyborg stood at the door to the roof access stairwell.

“You two in the middle of something or-?” Cyborg asked.  
“Just talking, something up?” Robin asked.  
“Wanted to see if you two were gonna eat with us or not, the pizza’s here,” Cyborg said.  
Raven shook her head, “I’m not hungry.” Before vanishing through the roof using her powers.  
“She alright?” Cyborg asked.  
“Not exactly…I can’t talk about it, she’s just not feeling like herself,” Robin said with a sad frown.  
“Anything we can do?” Cyborg asked.  
“No, she doesn’t want to make a big deal over it – I made her promise to talk to me when it gets to be too much…so that’s what that was about,” Robin replied.  
“Guess that’s why she didn’t deal with Beast Boy like she usually does, I knew something was up.” Cyborg said.  
“Yeah. I can’t say what it is, but it isn’t good – or something we can really help her deal with,” Robin said.  
“I get it, I hope she feels better…Wanna grab some pizza?” Cyborg asked.  
“Sure, I’m starving,” Robin replied distantly, staring at the spot where Raven had gone through the floor.


	4. A Misfire

Chapter 4: A Misfire

“Their footprints were still fresh in the doorway. She hadn’t meant him to only see some of the worst this tower had to offer when she had first brought him here, but it could not be helped… He had been present for some of the best already though and more would come. She looked to the collected memories in her arms and smiled, continuing down the hall. Passion had been present while these new memories were made and Raven was glad of it, pleased to have some aid available to her headspace at last. Getting the help had been hard enough. Were it not for his push, she wouldn’t have it.”

When Raven had left Cyborg and Robin on the roof, she had flown straight to her room and collapsed on the bed, feeling anxious and overspent. Her emotions were still angling for a chance to rise to the surface. She gave a long sigh and concentrated on the ceiling above her, as if that would put any of her emotions off of their goal. 

Why did Robin have to screw with her emotions? He knew better. At least she hoped he did, giving them any sort of power would lead to more trouble than they could handle, especially if Fear or Hatred assumed command of her power. She worried that what control she had managed to maintain would start to deteriorate if she didn’t stay alert constantly. More sleepless nights, great, she thought.

Passion suddenly poked her head through Raven’s thoughts to hold up an image of Robin and started to speak so quickly Raven could barely make out anything she said. What Raven did hear made her blush with a tiny smile before she shook it off in frustration. Robin’s recent support and interest in her was more than she was used to, which Passion took advantage of and urged her to consider it more than she had.  
Sitting up, she got off the bed and went to pick up the journal that was still lying on the floor in front of her door. Opening it, she read Robin’s latest message:

“You’re right, I think I understand what you’re feeling because of something I went through. I don’t talk about it. If you talk to me, trust me to help you, I’ll tell you what I went through. You don’t deserve the way you feel.”

Alright, Raven thought as she closed the journal, I’ll try. She let her constantly maintained neutral expression and guard on her emotions fall away carefully. Reading his words again, she felt a warm smile cross her face. The warmth flooded her body and filled her senses clearly, as unused to the feeling as she was – she stayed cautious as the feelings persisted. Happiness had more or less danced into the spotlight of her senses, keeping her fastened to the rising warmth. 

Her smile widened as she re-read what they had been writing. Then she thought of her conversation with Robin earlier. It was the most joy she had felt in years. She loved it. Her feet left the ground as she felt her own powers lifting her without her trying. Frantically, she latched on to the next emotion she managed to conjure.

The frustrations with not being able to let herself feel, to monitor everything, the reason behind it, and more clawed and tore their way through the warmth – lowering her back to the ground. Everything that had annoyed her lately ripped through her thoughts and summoned a missile of wrath. She felt her power flow out from her as a ripple of energy in all directions, creating a small shockwave which was strong enough to resonate through the tower and knock her books off the shelves. Hatred had rattled its cage. Shaking her head and putting her hands over her head, she knelt down and struggled to get another near emotion.

Dread seeped through the anger and she let out a small sob as the core of her own depression wailed through her mind. Every muscle ached, every bone felt fractured, and it hurt to dwell on the plentiful sad thoughts she had collapsing over her in waves. The light-bulbs in the room shattered, all light in the room had been drowned in her own dark energy as she felt herself cry her eyes out for the first time. Despair was nodding to her in understanding in her mind as it continued to use her power.

Raven struggled to get into her meditating pose and managed to say, “Azarath Metrion Zinthos,” through heavy tears. The guard for her emotions returned as they were all chased back under her control. Her expression returned to normal as she wiped away the last of her tears.  
Well, she had tried, right? Her most extreme feelings had been enough to send her emotions over the edge with her power, combined with the fact that she hadn’t let them show like that in a long time – it was more than she could handle. It pushed her to not want to be alone.  
Getting off the floor, Raven swiftly left her mess of a room and walked through the halls until she reached Robin’s room. After not getting any answer from knocking, she called him on her communicator and he said he would be there in a minute. She slid his door open and turned on the light. 

Robin’s room was less decorated than hers, aside from his bed and dresser – he had a desk with a mirror and his closet had several utility belts and uniforms. A door led to his own bathroom, which he had insisted on for added privacy. Nothing was left out for anyone to look at, aside from a bird-a-rang he was fiddling with, which stemmed from the same desire for privacy. 

She sat cross-legged on his bed, facing the door. Flipping the journal over in her hands, she tried to busy her mind with anything but itself. Passion, Cleverness, and Happiness were having another discussion that she was doing her best to tune out. There was enough going on without her analyzing her latest sessions with Robin. If there even was anything new to analyze, she was content with believing that they were just being more supportive of each other as friends. Not to argue that something else might be happening but…well-. This was her emotions’ fault.

The door slid open and Robin entered quickly, closing it and advancing to her side with a worried expression. He looked into her eyes and could tell she had been crying, and she didn’t try to hide that she had. She bit her lower lip and looked at him nervously. She told him about how her powers had acted on their own; she had little to no control.

“I…let my emotions out,” Raven started slowly.  
“Guessing uh, it didn’t go well?” Robin observed sadly.

Raven shook her head, looking away from him towards the door.

“They took advantage of the opportunity and pushed everything they had through my powers,” she explained.  
“There’s no chance it can’t be better than that?” he asked.  
“A very small chance. Only if I don’t feel anything too strongly,” she said.  
“Well that’s-,” he started.  
“Irritating? Almost impossible? Yes, it is,” she said.  
“I’m…sorry, Raven,” he said, sadly, feeling responsible.  
“Yeah…I actually liked feeling something again but maybe I’m not meant to,” she said, looking at the floor in sorrow.  
“Isn’t there a way you could learn to only shut out those more extreme feelings?” he asked.  
“I could, but…I don’t want to go through that again, I’m worried I’ll hurt someone,” she said.  
“What if I helped you through it?” he asked.

She looked over to him apprehensively.

“Are you…sure? I might hurt you accidentally. I don’t want that to happen,” she said.  
“Yeah, I’m sure, I want to help – I know you’d do the same for me. Besides, I owe you,” he said, smiling to her.

She nodded and shifted on the bed, aware they were sinking into another awkward silence. She had called him here, shouldn’t she be more willing to go into detail so he could get a better understanding of how he could help her? Maybe she should be, but there was still an unseen wall of secrecy and privacy between them. That fact held her back from saying more, or asking for anything else. Her mind was clinging to the rebuilt emotional guard and didn’t want to test its grip any further. Still, she wanted his company, and she was still concerned that he had to drop his case.

“Shame we didn’t get to finish out that case,” Raven said.  
“You mean ‘shame we weren’t allowed to finish out that case,’” Robin corrected with a resentful tone.  
“I see you’re still thrilled as ever,” she said dryly.  
“It was my case, this city is under my watch…just because one criminal was involved, suddenly it’s his call, and…” Robin said, stopping himself.  
“And?” Raven asked.  
“Nothing. Forget I said anything,” Robin said glumly.  
“Not a chance. Keep talking,” she protested.  
“I can’t, it’s…one of the things I said I’d never talk about with all of you,” he said.  
“You need to talk about it, I know it’s affecting you,” she said.  
“I’m dealing with it, alright?” he said sharply.

Raven glanced down at the floor, stung by the tone of his voice. 

“Sorry Raven, I-,” Robin started.  
“You can’t talk about him with anyone,” she said, finishing his thought.  
“Yeah,” he said, “I-.”

Robin’s communicator went off suddenly, jolting them both upright. Answering it, he quickly hid the screen from her view and went out into the hall. 

Alone in Robin’s room, Raven gave a frustrated, exhausted sigh. As much as she understood and accepted his need for being secretive about his past, it didn’t mean she was satisfied with being kept completely in the dark. If something related to his past was still bothering him now, no one would be able to help him deal with it. She could only imagine what he was discussing with his old friend now; no doubt it’d be something he couldn’t tell her about.

If he was going to be helping her learn how to let her emotions show safely, she would want to know she could talk to him and trust him to be as genuine as she was. In those moments when her emotions express themselves, she’d want him to share some of his. This would mean a lot to her and it would be necessary if she was going to push herself to do it.

She let herself fall back onto his bed, she was worn out from her emotions’ fun with her powers and it was starting to get to her. Behind her emotional guard, Passion was clawing at the walls, holding up images in her tower of memories that she couldn’t focus on - there were many and she wasn’t trying to give them an ounce of attention anyway. 

But Passion was persistent, having tasted some of the power Happiness had reveled in earlier it was impossible to ignore. A flurry of images was thrown up for her mind’s eye, a very sense-heavy slideshow which may as well have been titled ‘Robin’s Help: Greatest Hits’. His belief in her had saved her from her own pessimism and, ultimately, the end of the world.

Since then, she had felt her strength increase, her power was truly hers. She had held her emotions close, glad that they were free from her father’s influence, but she wouldn’t give them an inch – worried that they’d cause a similar chaos that her father had. Maybe it was time to see if they could be stable, if she could be...better. Robin would be helping her through it too.

Her eyelids grew heavy and she yawned reluctantly, she didn’t want to admit that she was tired – that her emotions had drained her. As she started to drift off to sleep, Passion used the opportunity to remind her where she was, and who would find her when she woke. It surprised her that this reminder comforted her.


	5. Calling a Few Titans

Chapter 5: Calling a Few Titans

“When there’s trouble, you know who to call. You know who to avoid. You know who to trust. You know why there’s blood on the first tower floor. You know why you can’t tell a soul how terrified you’ve become. You know the awful power you’ve managed to harness can’t be leashed forever. You know where you are as you wake and wish you could be there under better circumstances. You wonder when this life will kill you. You claw at the walls of your head as the fingers of your past enclose you in its fist. Oh, time to get up Raven.”

Frustrated, Robin paced outside his room and took a few deep breaths. Being told to give the case over to Batman had been bad enough, but now…oh, now that seemed like a gift. Robin had just been told to lend a few of his teammates to help with the situation in Gotham, and he wasn’t allowed to be one of them. They couldn’t all go of course, someone needed to be here in case of a crisis in the city. 

How long had he been out in the hall? It seemed like an hour. He remembered how suddenly he had left Raven to talk to Batman and immediately felt like a jerk. Sliding his door open, he entered and stopped short as the door slid behind him. 

Raven was sprawled across his bed, sleeping soundly. Robin sat on the edge of the bed carefully, smiling almost foolishly. He knew she had been having trouble sleeping, so he wasn’t sure if he should wake her. Still, he knew she’d tear his eye out if she knew he was sitting here, just watching her sleep. While he was happy they were talking more, he didn’t know what he actually wanted now, looking at her. 

She only opened up to him, he only opened up to her, while her cage of emotions and his bunker of secrets stood between them and complete trust. They could find something new here, if they wanted to. He liked having her here, with him – away from the dark library of her room and the others’ pestering. “Do I ask her?” he wondered. Maybe after we deal with figuring out who’s staying here while the other part of the team goes to Gotham.

He rested his uninjured hand on her leg at the ankle and ran it along to just above her knee and shook just enough to try and jolt her awake.

“Raven? Raven? Wake up,” Robin said.

Groaning softly, Raven twisted on the bed, her eyes struggling to open. He squeezed her leg softly, smiling down at her. Her eyes found his and she couldn’t help show an embarrassed smile while she hid the feelings of her latest dream. The smile quickly faded as she sat up next to him.

“How long was I asleep?” Raven asked.  
“Maybe an hour,” he guessed.  
“You didn’t mind?” she asked, indicating his bed.  
“Of course not, I’m sorry I left you in here for that long,” he replied.  
“So…what is it?” she asked, sensing his frustration.  
“Well, the case still isn’t ours, but…my friend has asked that I send a few of us to help with it…and I’ve been told to stay,” he replied with an irritated expression.  
“I see. So, should I start packing or am I not going?” she asked.  
“That’s up to you. My friend only asked for a few of us, which is…fine, things have been quiet, we can do that,” he said.  
“I’m staying,” she said after a few moments.  
“Are you sure?” he asked, hoping she was.  
“Yes. Did you want me to go?” she asked.  
“No, uh-I mean it’s up to you,” he said, tripping over his first response.

A hint of red appeared in her cheeks as she shifted next to him. 

“So long as it’s up to me, I’d like it if you helped me with my powers while they’re gone, and maybe go over a few things…” she said.  
“Yeah, I’ll do whatever you need me to,” he said with a smile.  
“Perfect,” she said, returning a small smile for a brief moment.  
“We need to talk to the others about the mission, but afterwards…could we talk about something?” he asked.  
“Sure…” she responded, curious.

With a nod, Robin helped Raven off the bed and out of his room. As they walked in the hallway, they spoke of their friends’ trip and how best to send them off. They were prepared to fight in groups of two or three when they needed to do so, even for an extended assignment like this.   
Now they speculated as to how long it would take before one of them calls, complaining about living with the other two without mediation. A dry comment from Raven in response had Robin chuckling as they moved down the hall. She asked if Starfire could handle them, which elicited a groan and a comment of his own. Her laugh radiated through the corridor, surprising both of them. Reaching the living room, they walked in and found Cyborg sitting on one side of the room, Beast Boy as far away as possible, and Starfire sitting with Silkie wearing a frown.  
Raven only had to look at Robin for the two of them to start laughing in unison.

“What’s so funny?” Beast Boy demanded, an angry look on his face.  
“Nothing,” Robin said with a final chuckle, “I hope you guys aren’t too mad at each other, it’ll be that much worse when you get there.”  
“Aw, no. I’m not gonna let that green stain in my car. He can walk,” Cyborg said angrily, “Wait…where are we going?”  
“You, Beast Boy, and Starfire are going to Gotham City,” Robin said.  
“What about you and Rae?” Cyborg asked.  
“Someone has to stay and watch the city,” Raven replied for Robin, moving down the steps and sitting on a nearby chair.  
“Surely we could find someone else, perhaps Titans East?” Starfire asked.  
“They have their hands full,” Robin said, shaking his head.  
“Can I stay here instead?” Beast Boy asked.  
“No…” Raven said.

The others looked at Raven with confused expressions. Robin walked down the steps, standing next to her chair.

“I can’t go and…Raven hasn’t been herself lately,” Robin said, doing his best not to reveal too much.  
“So why do we have to go at all?” Beast Boy asked.  
“A friend of mine has a lead on that thief you chased, the thief works for an organization based in Gotham, and since my friend can’t deal with everything…I offered our help,” Robin explained.

Cyborg glared at Beast Boy, who glared right back. Raven rolled her eyes as she picked up the nearest book. Starfire stood before Robin, who merely glanced between Beast Boy and Cyborg with a tired expression. The silence barely lasted longer than a minute before Robin spoke again.

“This is important to me. I need you to go, happy or not,” Robin said.  
“Let’s go with not!” Cyborg said, still glaring at Beast Boy.  
“When do we leave?” Beast Boy growled, also refusing to do anything else but glare back.  
“When either of you blink,” Raven said dryly.

Robin gave Raven a disapproving look which she shrugged off and found her place in her book once more. 

“As soon as you’re ready, so start packing, or Star will pack your things for you. You’ll get the mission details when you get to Gotham,” Robin said.  
Beast Boy’s eyes narrowed in his glare and he stormed off to collect his things. Following suit, but only after Beast Boy was an acceptable distance from the room, Cyborg left the others in the room to go pack. Raven frowned after them and then turned her gaze to Starfire and Robin.

“I wish you could both go with us,” Starfire said with a smile.  
“We do too Star, but we need to be here,” Robin said, returning her smile.  
“We will call and check in when we can,” Raven said with a subtle smile.  
“Glorious! We’ll miss you,” Starfire said, sweeping Raven from her seat into a big hug, her book falling on the floor.  
“We’ll miss you too Star,” Robin said, chuckling as Starfire turned from Raven and swept him into another hug.  
“I do not know how I will get Cyborg and Beast Boy to ‘make up’,” Starfire said with a frown.  
“Smack them around, works like a charm,” Raven said, slightly kidding, reaching down and picking her book off of the floor carefully.  
“They need to work it out themselves, help if you can, but don’t get between them. We’ve seen them get past stuff like this before,” Robin said, ignoring Raven’s remark.  
“You are not worried?” Starfire asked.  
“No, they’ve worked on a case while they were upset with each other before, besides, they’ll probably get over it inside a day or so. If it is a problem for the mission, let us know,” Robin replied.  
“Lucky it’s not you and Cyborg having a problem, doubt we could get the two of you to go on a mission, let alone get you two in the same room,” Raven said.  
“Don’t remind me,” Robin said, frowning at Raven.  
“Sorry,” Raven said, sitting back in her chair, and flipping through her book to find her place.  
“I shall take care of everything, do not worry about us, I will cheer them up on our way there!” Starfire said.  
“I hope it works, Star. Go and pack, you all need to be ready to leave soon,” Robin said.

Starfire nodded happily and flew out of the room through the sliding doors. As Starfire left, Raven moved from the chair to glide over and sit on the couch with her book. She curled her legs up on the couch and glanced out the window before sighing quietly to herself and started reading. She barely made it through reading a second paragraph before Robin plopped down on the couch next to her with a sigh of his own. Looking to him out of the corner of her eye, she offered a small sympathetic nod, which he returned, and added a smile. 

He let her read as he tried to figure out how to say what he wanted to, what he had been thinking about in the back of his mind as he had been speaking to Starfire. He found himself staring out the window, wrestling with himself. Breathing in deeply, he put his feet up on the round table and rested against the back of the couch.

Try as she might, she couldn’t help feel him wrestling internally with something through their bond, and while she didn’t know what it was, it felt like it went deep. As she finished the page she was on, she felt his eyes on her, once, twice, alternating from looking at her and gazing out the window.

“Uh, so do you think Star can handle Cyborg and Beast Boy?” he asked.  
“Their fight is pointless, they’ll forget about it as soon as they find a good pizza place that delivers in Gotham,” she replied, turning the page in her book.  
“You’re probably right, they’ll get over it, or at least until Beast Boy hears him order half sausage, “he said with a small chuckle.

She laughed softly, turning from her book to look at him. His smile widened as he heard her laugh and met her gaze. She felt something different in the way he was looking at her, making her turn back to her book nervously, but glance back quickly before settling on the page.  
He held his smile, reaching behind his head and scratching the back of his neck. He could feel her almost retreat through their bond, blocking him off, though he got a sense of her inner reaction before he was cut off.

“Could um, could we talk about something?” he asked.

She shifted on the couch, sighing softly, and closing her book – marking her place. Setting it down in her lap, she turned to Robin with her stoic expression.

“What do you want to talk about?” she asked in the firmest he’d ever heard her typical monotone.

He stopped smiling as he realized her emotional guard was back up and somehow fortified.

“When I said ‘we’, I meant the actual you, and I, talk,” he said carefully.  
“I don’t think I should,” she said.  
“You know what I want to talk about don’t you?” he asked.  
“I…have an idea,” she replied.  
“When you first explained our bond to me, you said I could talk to you about anything I was feeling, no matter how dangerous or difficult it was to bring up, and you’d help me work it out,” he said.  
“And I will,” she said.  
“Even if it’s about you?” he asked.

Raven paused, looking down to the floor before meeting his gaze again, slightly biting her lip and taking a deep breath. A tiny glint appeared in her eyes and she sighed softly as she softened the guard on her emotions.

“Yeah, even if it’s about me,” she said with a nervous frown.  
“I know it’s not going to be easy, but I can’t ignore it. We’re going to be alone together for a while, I’ll be helping you with your powers, so I want to make sure we’re okay,” he said.  
“Right, but I think I know how ‘okay’ we are, and the fact is that we definitely won’t be if we go into this,” she said.  
“You don’t know that,” he countered.  
“Oh, I don’t? Why don’t you tell me how you see this going?” she asked, her voice rising.  
“I just want us to talk about it, I don’t think we’re going to decide anything, but-. Wait, you’ve been thinking about this too?” he asked, trying to keep his voice clear and calm.  
“Thinking about what? You haven’t admitted anything yet aside from saying you’ve had a few feelings about me,” she said.

Robin sighed, putting his feet down and turning more of his body towards her. He thought for a moment or two as she crossed her arms and took another deep breath, waiting for him.

“I… think our friendship is turning into something else and I don’t know if that’s good for us or not, even… uh, even if I might like it,” he said.  
“I’ve been feeling differently about you too, but I hadn’t decided it was more yet. I’m still not sure what this is…and I doubt it would be good for me, even if it was good for us,” she said softly.  
“That’s why I don’t know what to do, I don’t want to wreck this, or mess with your emotions and have your powers to deal with, but I like what we’ve been doing together – and I want to keep doing it with you,” he explained.  
She gave him a small smile, which faded after a few moments. He returned the smile, but held his.  
“Robin,” she said, moving closer to him on the couch.  
He closed the distance and cautiously wrapped his arm around her, waiting for her to continue. She sighed once more before speaking.  
“We’ll talk about this again later. But for now we have another problem,” she said.  
“What?” he asked, confused.  
“I want to write and our notebook is nowhere in sight,” she replied.


	6. The Council of Many Colors

Chapter 6: The Council of Many Colors

“The moon is full, the ghosts of the past have been collected, and the chances of relief are few. There is much that draws these monsters within the darkened halls of the tower from their confinements and out into the view of Raven’s emotions. Weapons fashioned from Raven’s power have protected them from the more anxiety provoking feelings and memories. However, they are not equipped to deal with the onslaught of negative predictions and associated depression. In their council, the emotions must be made to cooperate with Raven and each other, before their bids for control ruin her pursuit of a better handle on her powers and greater sense of self.”

After dinner, Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy left on their mission to Gotham. But not before getting a lecture from Robin on how to deal with Batman and the new team dynamic they’ll have to accept. Starfire agreed to try and keep Cyborg and Beast Boy from fighting while they’re around Batman, as the last thing Robin wanted was for Batman to get some idea that he can’t control his team, or that they were too juvenile for the task they took on in defending their city from various threats. Raven, for the most part, said nothing more than goodbye, as she was feeling worse than before. They all noticed, but didn’t ask her about it. Once Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy had left the tower, Raven handed Robin their notebook.

“Promise me you’ll write tonight instead of doing more investigating for the case they’re going to be working on in Gotham,” Raven said.  
“I’ll try my best,” Robin said, reluctantly.  
“Good,” she said, making to leave the living room.  
“Woah, hey, where are you going?” he asked.  
“To my room to sleep, I’m not feeling well anymore,” she replied.  
“Not going to stay and keep me company?” he asked.  
“I might have, if I wasn’t feeling this way. Maybe tomorrow I’ll spend the day with you, if we don’t have a crisis in the city,” she said.  
“I’d like it if you did,” he said, smiling at her, “Good night, Raven.”  
“Good night, Robin,” she said, offering him a brief smile before heading to her room.

He watched as she left, feeling powerless to help her, and he always hated that feeling. He frowned and walked over to the couch with the notebook they had been writing in earlier that day. He sat down and tried to push all thoughts of the case he had dropped out of his mind, so he could concentrate on his writing. It would have been nice to have gone with the others, if nothing else to see Gotham again, and Alfred too. Though he would happily miss the insanity of that city’s underworld. He had no desire to see Batman. 

Flipping the book open, he glanced out of the window as he heard it begin to rain. The strong wind blew several red leaves against the glass. Fall had been relatively crime free in the city, he had been hoping the team would finally get a chance to enjoy Halloween without having a case to work. Now it seemed that he and Raven would be the only ones to have that chance. He smiled and started writing.

RRRRRRR

Raven had taken two sleeping pills, then undid her cloak clasp and belt, and slid under the covers of her bed. She was asleep in under a few minutes. She did not dream, she couldn’t afford that luxury. Instead, she engaged in a deep, special meditation to interact with her mind and her emotions. It could only be done while she was asleep. Her mirror didn’t allow her to rest her body the way this method of entering her mind did. It was still relatively new to her and she could still be subject to elements of her dreams and nightmares. 

Tonight, she had one mission: to gather her emotions and get them to work together so she could use more of her power and fully express herself. She also wanted to know what it was that kept her from feeling like her usual self, what it was that weighed her down, that fired negative predictions at her. 

She entered her memory tower and stood beneath a flickering chandelier in the hall. She glanced around, noticing the latest changes, including some more lights, a lighter shade of blue paint on the walls, and a few happier pictures hanging around. Cleverness rose out of the floor to greet Raven with a small smile.

“I’ve gotten most of the others ready to talk this out, only Hatred refuses to join us until she talks with you one on one, and she will not shut up about it,” Cleverness said.

“Okay, I’ll go and see her, I just hope it’s not another lame attempt to gain control,” Raven said.

With a nod, Cleverness vanished through the floor. Raven walked down the hall towards Hatred’s cell, finding a door that she hadn’t seen in the tower in a long time. The doorknob had an ‘R’ that matched the one on Robin’s uniform. She kept walking to Hatred’s cell, deciding to check out the room later. She walked down a long, winding staircase and unlocked the door at the bottom. 

Hatred glared at Raven with a grin from behind the bars of her cage that was suspended from the ceiling. The chains around Hatred’s arms and legs clanged against the cage as she moved to the front of the bars as Raven approached. Raven looked down and took a deep breath before looking back into the red, red eyes of Hatred.

“Took you long enough,” Hatred said with a snarl.  
“What do you want?” Raven asked.  
“To help you, of course, so you can help me,” Hatred said, grinning.  
“I’m not interested in giving you another chance to take control of my powers,” Raven said.  
“You have it all wrong, gem, you can leash me, just let me run,” Hatred said.  
“I’ll consider it, if you join the others so we can suppress my depression,” Raven said.  
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Not so fast. I have more to say to you,” Hatred said.  
“What now?”  
“I know why you are having nightmares, why your powers are taking it out of you. Your depression is affecting you and your powers, because someone has a handle on your ability to see into the future.”  
“Who?”  
“You’re worried about me getting control, because I have before. Who else has gained control of your powers?”  
“Fear, or Despair as she’s going by now.”  
“You’re afraid of me, of what’s happening, of what will happen if I put you at the mercy of a father long since dead. You’ll never get more power, more life, if you keep letting Despair call the shots. She should be down here, not me.”

Raven nodded as she considered Hatred’s words. She paced slowly, wondering how it had escaped her that Despair could do what has been happening. It was the best explanation she had found.

“If I leash you, what can I expect from you?”  
“Full, controlled use of your demonic form, and access to darker powers. I promise to help you, I don’t want to be stuck down here for the rest of your life.”  
“Fine, we’ll see what we can do together. Will you join me and the others to deal with this?”  
“Why waste time? Just let me go and get Despair and drag her down here.”  
“We need to know if what you’re saying is true, then explain what will be happening. You’ll have to help fight off the last of the negative predictions and the remains of my father’s memory.”  
“Then we lock up Despair?”  
“If we need to, yes.”  
“Let me out and lead the way.”

Unlocking Hatred’s cell, Raven then unchained Hatred, and helped her out. Hatred glided out of the cell and followed Raven up the winding stairs as she walked all the way to the top. They passed one floor after another, up, and up until they reached the top floor. Raven opened the door and introduced Hatred to the other emotions, who were gathered around a large stone table. She walked with Hatred to the head of the table, ignoring the looks the other emotions were giving them.

“It’s been awhile since the last time I called all of you here to deal with a problem, so some things have changed, as you can tell. Fear is now Despair, Passion has been given more control, Happiness and Courage have been working together – they’ve been overworked actually, Cleverness has been supporting them, and Hatred has largely been confined to her cell…until now,” Raven explained.

The others raised their eyebrows and regarded Raven with shock and suspicion. Cleverness held her tongue, suspecting there to be more. Hatred stood silent with a small grin on her face.

“You all know what’s been happening, we need to stop this, it’s been affecting me too much – I can barely sleep without help, my powers are weaker, and I’m feeling hopeless. Hatred claims that Despair is to blame for all of it and I’m inclined to agree. Hatred also wants to help, and is willing to be controlled if she can stay out of that cell,” Raven said.  
“I also suggest that Despair take my place in that cell,” Hatred said.

Most of the emotions objected immediately, starting an uproar that was ended by Cleverness demanding quiet. They all turned to her and waited for her to speak. She straightened her glasses and adjusted her hood.

“Hatred’s claim makes sense, Despair has been given too much freedom, but I don’t know if trading Despair for Hatred is the best course of action. If that’s the plan, then I say that Passion should watch Hatred and intervene when necessary, and have Happiness along with myself on call, until we know Hatred can be trusted,” Cleverness said.  
“I’ll agree to that,” Passion said.  
“I won’t,” Despair said.  
“You don’t need to, you’re suspected to be the one causing our problem, so we can decide what we want,” Courage said.  
“Can you prove that it’s something else causing this, Despair?” Cleverness asked.  
“No. It is me,” Despair said.

The room fell silent. Hatred crossed her arms as her grin spread wider. Raven stared at Despair with a look of betrayal. Happiness somehow managed to frown.

“Why have you done this? Do you know how much damage you’ve done? How much you made us do to fight this?” Cleverness asked.  
“Yes, I know. I just…needed to be heard, because Raven was shutting me out too much, she needed to know that something had to change, because deep down – she is sad,” Despair said.  
“Things are changing, slowly, but it’s happening, she has plenty to look forward to, and plenty to do,” Passion said.  
“Maybe, I just don’t see it, and I tried to see it,” Despair.  
“Yeah, you tainted her predictions,” Hatred said angrily, “You made her hopeless, which started her depression.”  
“Fine then, Courage, you will be watching Despair to make sure she doesn’t keep causing trouble,” Cleverness said.  
“Is everything settled?” Raven asked.

The others nodded. Passion raised her hand and looked to Raven with a smile. Raven raised her eyebrow and tried to guess what Passion would say. Probably something about pursuing her powers.

“They can go, but I need you to come with me – I have something to show you, behind a certain door you passed when you came into the tower,” Passion hinted.

Robin. Of course that’s what she wanted to talk about. Raven sighed and walked over to Passion, she dismissed the other emotions and followed Passion down the winding staircase. She braced herself for whatever challenge or plan Passion wanted her to work on. More ways to spend time with Robin, probably. She wasn’t sure if she did feel that strongly about him, but then she had this problem with her emotions she had been dealing with. She was hopeful that what she had done would be enough to put things back on track.

They reached the ground floor and started for the door Passion had referred to. Four large red eyes appeared on the wall, glaring at them as flames surrounded them. Hatred rose out of the floor and ripped the eyes off the wall like she was tearing off wallpaper, then put the flames out with her cloak.

“Thanks,” Raven said.  
“Just doing my job,” Hatred said, before taking off after one of Trigon’s flame soldiers.

Passion opened the door and led Raven inside. Her eyes went wide as she took in the room before her. It was huge and almost completely filled. Photos on the wall depicted some of their best memories together, then there were books filled with their conversations, and several items on display. To their left was a locked door that only Robin had the key to, and Raven had only been on the other side of it once. It was the door to Robin’s mind through their bond.

“Do the others have a room like this?” Raven asked Passion.  
“They have their own rooms, but no, they aren’t like this,” Passion said.  
“Why?” Raven asked.  
“I don’t think you understand how close the two of you really are,” Passion said.  
“And you’re going to tell me, aren’t you?” Raven asked, dreading what Passion would say.  
“I don’t think I need to, that’s part of why Despair was able to cause so much damage – you know exactly how you feel, but you won’t admit it to yourself. You were afraid of what might happen to you, to him, to your team,” Passion said.  
“It’s not true, I don’t feel that way,” Raven protested.  
“The whole reason I’m here is because you do. And you know how to get to him, to connect and build more trust, to have him care more about you than anyone else. You’ve been dying to say something to him, you almost did once, but you took the easy way out and asked him to get that journal before you said it,” Passion said.  
“Do you blame me? My emotions wouldn’t be able to handle what he would say, if he would be angry, or glad. It’s his secret after all, his name,” Raven said.  
“He hasn’t heard it from anyone else but his old partner since he left Gotham and it’s just the two of you here, no one is in earshot. I know he’d love it for you to reach out to him more, this is one way to do that, and you think it will work. You want to know,” Passion said.  
“I do, I’m just not ready for the consequences of doing this. I can’t deal with more emotional stress right now,” Raven said.  
“I’m the ‘emotional stress’ you’re talking about, and I’m more than ready – and getting closer to him won’t hurt you or your powers, I promise,” Passion said.  
“What about the team?” Raven asked.  
“That’s not my area, but I’m sure you two could work something out if it went that far,” Passion said.  
“Fine. I’ll do it. When I get a chance,” Raven said.  
“Great! Keep writing in that journal with him too. Well, I’d hate to do this but…” Passion started.  
“What?”  
“Good morning, Raven,” Passion said with a smile.

Everything went black. Raven slowly opened her eyes and rolled onto her back in her bed.


	7. For the Excluded

(Enjoy and please review! ~RavensMind~)

Chapter 7: For the Excluded

“Hatred’s assault on the occupying force of Despair’s making had started. Within Raven’s first waking hour, the walls of the memory tower were scorched, the floors scarred, and the foundations nearly cracked. Still, visions of Trigon and the end of all things slipped into Raven’s view. Hatred had to recruit Courage to help fight off the infestation. Passion and Happiness were brought in to soothe Raven as the fighting went on. This was the beginning of the end for this depression. It would only be a matter of time. The day ahead held so much more than she could have hoped for along with a new threat to the city.”

After her shower, Raven got dressed and left her room, heading for the living room. She was feeling a little better, but knew it would take some time before she was back to normal, and a bit longer for any further improvement. There was little to do now but wait. She wanted tea badly.  
Walking into the living room, she was greeted by the sight and sounds of the TV. Some cop show was on and the volume was low. She walked over to the couch and found Robin, still in his uniform, fast asleep, with their journal face down on his chest. She smiled and then quietly went to the kitchen. Turning the coffee pot on, she set Robin’s mug next to it, and then started making her tea in her own cup. She drank her tea slowly while she waited for the coffee. When it was done, she poured it into Robin’s mug and walked back to the couch. She set the mug down on the table and sat down on the couch by his feet. 

“Robin?” Raven asked, shaking him awake gently.

Shaking his head a bit, Robin slowly woke up. He smiled at Raven and sat up.

“Morning, Raven,” Robin said.  
“Morning,” Raven said, taking his mug and handing it to him.  
“Hey, thanks!” he said, grabbing it and taking a sip.  
She smiled and nodded to him.  
“What time is it?” he asked.  
“Around nine,” she said.  
“Guess I slept in a little.”  
“Yeah, what were you doing sleeping out here?”  
“Thought I’d take advantage of having the tower all to ourselves. Want to join me tonight to watch something?”  
“Sure, that sounds nice.”

He smiled and looked at her for a few moments. 

“You seem like you’re feeling better.”  
“A little. I worked some things out with my emotions, so I should be back to my normal self soon.”  
“That’s great! Do you still want my help?”  
“Yeah, I still need to try to give my emotions more freedom.”  
“I’ll help however I can.”  
“I believe you will. How’s your wrist?”  
“Stiff, it still hurts, but I don’t need the splint for it just moving around here, so I took it off.”  
“Just tell me if it gets worse.”

She sat back against the couch and drank her tea, as he drank his coffee. While she had turned her attention to the TV, he was stealing glances at her as he watched too. She caught him looking at her a few times, which made her half-smile and laugh softly at him. He smiled at her as she laughed. When he finished his cup of coffee, he stood up and set their journal on the couch.

“I’m going to go take a shower and everything. See you in a few,” he said.  
“See you soon,” she said.

When Robin left the living room, Raven set her cup down and then got up and went over to the chair in front of the TV. She accessed the Titans computer and pulled up a few recent files. The timestamp indicated that Robin had been looking at them last night. One was a message from Batman, describing the team’s mission in Gotham, another was a report on recent illegal weapon shipments to Jump City, and the last two were criminal files on Slade and someone called The Penguin.

She frowned, he had promised her he wouldn’t touch the computer last night. Though what she saw worried her. She hadn’t recognized the name of the second criminal, but knew she had seen or heard the name somewhere before. Slade’s file had his recent activities and sightings listed, the last two stuck out. One was about his appearance in Jump City aiding Trigon and then helping the Titans defeat Trigon. The second was a black and white photo of Slade walking into a warehouse near the docks with a timestamp of four days ago.

Turning off the computer, Raven went back to the couch and picked up the journal. She sat down and opened it to the most recent entry. Robin had written a list of things to do with little checkboxes next to them: dinner, haunted house, costume party, horror movie marathon, carnival, café. Followed by a little message: “Any of these sound like fun to you?” – Robin. Underneath that, he had taped a small teabag of a brand she found and had loved while they were in Tokyo. She smiled and peeled the bag out of the journal and the off the tape, holding it up.  
The door to the living room slid open and Robin entered.

“Do you like it?” he asked.  
“I do, thank you,” she said, stoically.  
“Don’t sound too excited,” he said dryly.  
“I’m excited, but I’m also angry at you for breaking your promise last night,” she said.  
“You looked. Why did you have to look?”  
“So I could see if you kept your word, and you didn’t.”  
“Raven, I’m sorry. Batman needed me to look into a few things around here. And now we may have our own case.”  
“You do know you don’t have to do what he says immediately, right?”

Robin crossed the room and sat down next to her. He sighed heavily and bent down, running his hands over his face, and then resting them on his knees. She looked down at him, waiting for him to say something else.

“I know. I know. Believe me, I hate it, it’s why I left. Having anyone looking over my shoulder like that is just – it’s more than I can take. Do you think I wanted to send any of you guys up there? It’s just another way for him to try and mess with me. I was done always being the one who had ‘more to learn’ I didn’t feel at home anymore, but it was the only home I had,” he said.

Raven put her hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed as he sighed again.

“I know how you feel,” she said.  
“Do you?” he asked, staring at the ground between his feet.  
“Yes. More than you’d want me to… Right now, you’re feeling as bad as you do on that one day, the same day every year. That day, you’re the last to get up, you don’t eat, you spend most of the afternoon in the gym, you fight harder than any of us if there’s trouble, you don’t say much, then in the evening – you go into the evidence room saying you’re checking a case… and you nearly break down, fighting back tears. Then, you go up to the roof, and I join you, to look at the stars,” she said.

He looked up at her, surprised, and nearly horrified at how much detail she knew. She nodded to him and squeezed his shoulder again.

“Y-you…you knew?” he asked.  
“I did. Why do you think I check in on you so much that day? I know what that day means to you, I know it’s the day you lost your parents,” she replied.  
“It’s stupid. It shouldn’t affect me like that,” he said, staring back at the floor.  
“No, it’s not stupid, what’s stupid is not talking about it with anyone,” she said.  
“I tried once, Raven, I tried to tell Starfire when we were dating, but she wasn’t treating the conversation seriously. So I kept it to myself. I guess I couldn’t share it with anyone and I haven’t.”  
“Robin.”  
“What?”  
“Look at me.”

He turned toward Raven and sat up straight. She wrapped her arms around his neck and ran one of her hands up through his hair, with a small smile on her face. He returned the smile and shifted closer to her.

“I should’ve talked to you, you were trying to help, and I didn’t,” he said.  
“Yeah, but at least I could distract you, at least you spoke when we watched the stars,” she said.  
“I umm, think I’m seeing stars now.”  
“Must be hard to appreciate them with that mask on.”

He reached up and carefully peeled his mask off, dropping it on the couch. His bright blue eyes reflected in her dark blue eyes. She smiled and Robin saw the small spark return to her eye.

“You were right; I really like what I see now.”  
“So do I, Richard.”

Robin froze for a few moments. It had been so long since anyone aside from Batman and Alfred had used his name. He liked how it sounded in her voice. He put his arms around her back, his fingers digging into her cloak. She sunk her fingers into his hair as he swiftly pulled her to him. Their lips met. Passion cheered with Happiness in the recesses of Raven’s mind. 

She tugged him down on top of her as her back found the cushions of the couch. His hands slid to the side of her stomach and her thigh as he pressed his lips into hers again. She moaned softly into their kiss as she ran her hands along his back. He groaned a little as her leg moved to rest against his inner thigh. She let out a small giggle as she sank her teeth into his lower lip. He kissed her again, then broke away, holding himself up with his arms. One of her hands found its way to the back of his head. He ran his hand along her bare thigh as he looked down at her with a smile. She returned a small smile and slid her other leg closer to his.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, silent and content. Robin was thinking of what they would do together over the next few days, while Raven wondered how her emotions would handle the next few days with him. They both thought of how much more deeply they found they cared for the other.

“Raven?” Robin asked.  
“Mhmm?” Raven asked.  
“This might sound weird, but could you say my name again?” he asked.  
“Richard,” she said with a small grin.

He leaned down and caught her lips in his. She laughed softly as he broke away again.

“Mmm. How will I deal with you now?” she asked.  
“It’s probably best not to, and just give in,” he teased.  
“Careful what you wish for, boy wonder,” she said with a wicked grin.  
“I was and just look at what I have here,” he said, smiling at her.  
“Lucky you, wish I was so fortunate,” she teased.  
“Ha ha. Very funny,” he said, pinching her.  
“You’re right, I think I lucked out. Your eyes are like crystals, by the way. Shame they’re hidden all the time,” she said.  
“They have to stay hidden, just not for you. I’ve been an idiot, I should have trusted you with more,” he said.  
“You did what you thought you had to.”  
“I’m going to trust you more, okay?”  
“Okay. Umm…are you going to get off of me, or are we staying like this all day?”  
“Why not? It’s not like we have to go anywhere.”  
“Either move, or I’ll move you.”  
“I’ll think about it.”  
“Fine, Richard, one more.”

She slid out from under him a bit and sat up, taking his face in her hands and seizing his lips with her own. He held her close and ran his fingers through her hair, stroking it as he deepened their kiss. She melted under his touch and had to force herself to break away.

“Seems like you want more than just one,” he teased.  
“I do, but we both have things to do. Maybe we’ll get back to this tonight,” she said.  
“Promise?” he asked.  
“Maybe…” she said, looking down and tracing the R on his chest with her finger.  
“Raven…”  
“Yes, I promise. Now let me up.”

Robin got off of Raven and moved back to his original spot on the couch, as she sat up and grabbed her tea cup. She took a sip and looked out the window, relaxing. Robin stood up and went to the kitchen to refill his coffee mug. 

“Hey Raven, what flavor of tea is that? Strawberry?” he asked.  
“Yeah,” she said.  
“Thought so. Guess the taste stays with you for a while,” he said.  
“It does… Do you like it?”  
“Is that a serious question? I want to try some more, only from you though.”  
“Robin, knock it off,” she said as she blushed slightly.  
“Fine. So, does anything on that list sound good to you? Thought we might try to get to one of them today.”  
“I feel like doing the horror movie marathon, I’m not sure you’re ready to go to the café I like yet, and I don’t know if I want to go to the carnival at all.”  
“Why not?”  
“Didn’t you take Starfire on one of your first few dates when we got back from Tokyo?”  
“Oh, yeah I did…but it’s okay, if you don’t want to go, we don’t have to. Besides, I was hoping you’d pick movie night,” he said, rejoining her on the couch with his coffee.  
“Okay, we’ll do that then. Um, earlier you said something about having our own case here, want to tell me what that’s about?” she asked as she turned to look at him.  
“I need to hear back from Batman before we can start doing anything, but it involves Slade and a criminal from Gotham, Penguin. Slade is dangerous enough by himself, but if he has Penguin’s help, I don’t know how we’ll stop them, especially if it’s just the two of us,” he explained.  
“Maybe, what else do we know?”  
“Nothing else but what I have already, that’s why I need more information from Batman. I could try and meet with my contact that I made when I was undercover looking into that reactor, but I don’t think it’s safe anymore.”  
“I could go with you.”  
“What about your powers?”  
“I didn’t mean now, but once I’ve had some time to recover, and you’ve helped me a little.”  
“Once you feel better, yeah, you can go with me.”

The Titans computer screen lit up and Robin’s communicator went off with a tiny alarm. Robin hopped off the couch and went over to the computer chair with his coffee as Raven followed, drinking her tea. He punched in a few numbers and several other keys and Alfred’s face appeared on the screen.

“Alfred? Where’s Bruce?” Robin asked.  
“My apologies, Master Grayson, Master Bruce is seeing to another matter with your friends in the city, but he’s-,” Alfred said, he stopped when he noticed Raven standing next to Robin in the room. Robin turned to Raven and then back to Alfred.  
“It’s fine, Alfred, she knows,” Robin said.  
“I see, well, I hope Master Bruce does not take issue with that. He’s found some information which may prove helpful to you. It seems Penguin has left Gotham and is flying into your city tomorrow. He has expanded his illegal weapon market to Jump City as well as Gotham, and he’s been looking into more advanced weaponry there to send back to Gotham for some unknown buyer,” Alfred explained.  
“Strange for him to come here, does it have anything to do with Slade?” Robin asked.  
“No. Slade has been out of the country since you last saw him, pursuing various contracts, but he bought up the stores selling legal firearms in your city for some income on the side. Slade’s business would suffer if Penguin were to expand into Jump City, he would not be assisting Penguin, that is certain. Master Bruce has said to keep your eyes open for Slade to make a move if he’s there. Penguin may not know you’re there, but Slade certainly does,” Alfred said.  
“How is the rest of our team? We haven’t been hearing much in the way of updates,” Raven asked.  
“Master Grayson, Miss Raven, I know Master Bruce wouldn’t approve of my telling you this, but he and your friends are being targeted by the same buyer of Penguin’s weapons. If this buyer gets their hands on them, there’s no telling what they’ll do next, but your friends are in serious danger,” Alfred said.

Robin and Raven were quiet for a few moments.

“We’ll stop Penguin and find those weapons, you have our word, but we need you or Bruce to let us know what’s happening there – or we’ll come to Gotham to find out for ourselves,” Robin said.  
“I understand. I shall tell Master Bruce when he returns, and I promise that he will contact you when he learns more,” Alfred said.  
“Thank you, Alfred,” Raven said.  
“Of course. Take care, Master Grayson, you as well, Miss Raven,” Alfred said before ending the call.

Robin leaned back in the chair and took a long drink of his coffee before taking a deep breath. Raven stood still, resting her hand on his shoulder, and looking down at him. He eventually looked up at her and she could see the worry in his eyes. She took a sip of her tea and squeezed his shoulder. 

“If anything happens to them, it’s my fault,” he said.  
“Don’t be an idiot. It will be the fault of whoever hurts them,” she said.  
“Sure…” he said.  
“Or it could at least be Batman’s fault, if you like.”  
“Now you’re talking.”  
“I was kidding.”  
“I wasn’t.”

She frowned at him for his comment. She didn’t know a lot about their relationship, only that there was a lot of bitterness on Robin’s end, and Bruce had been a father to him. She surmised that that role changed as Robin learned more. Looking down at him, she wondered how much he had seen of crime as he had worked with Batman. Then she became distracted by something else. She smiled at him, almost looking through him.

“What is it?” he asked.  
“Nothing, I just…I can’t get over how much I like your eyes,” she said.

He smiled, rising from his chair with his cup, his gaze fixed on her.

“I’ve always liked yours, too,” he said.

Leaning in, Raven gave Robin a quick kiss on the lips.

“You really know how to make me feel better,” he said.


	8. Hatred Rising

Chapter 8: Hatred Rising

“Some of her targets say she broke out, others say she was never locked up, the rest say she was created from nothing, but we know that she was released by her captor. Hatred’s laughter resonated through the halls of Raven’s memory tower as she struck down another swath of Trigon’s demon horde. Many of the occupying hordes had begun to flee from the tower, dissuaded by Hatred’s wrath and Despair’s new leash. A new power courses through the walls and floors of the tower as Hatred retrieves the abilities she once knew. Hatred infuses these abilities with Raven’s power, granting a stronger arsenal, and further honing Raven’s spells. The criminals of Jump City would feel a tremor in their world, as Raven found Hatred again.”

Meditating had never been more peaceful. Raven hovered over the floor in the living room, her legs crossed, arms bent out from her side, eyes closed, and chanting her usual mantra. Robin sat on the couch, watching her, waiting for her to let him know when he had to help. She said she would try and let some of her emotions out. She hoped it would go better than the last time. 

Raven felt a few emotions hovering near the surface, Passion, Cleverness, and the most active – Hatred. She didn’t know which of them would show themselves first, only that she should be able to harness her power with better control. She opened one eye and looked at Robin.

“Are you ready?” Robin asked.  
“Yes. Sit where you are, watch me, talk to me if you think you need to, keep me in the moment, and I’ll do my best to focus on you,” Raven said.  
“Okay, start when you feel like it. You can do this,” he said.

She took a deep breath and lowered the guard on her emotions. She felt Cleverness move to the front. Good, an easy one. A dark pair of glasses formed from Raven’s power and floated in front of her eyes. 

“Raven?” Robin asked.  
“I’m here. That’s a curious glint in your eye, I know you’re planning something. It could only either concern me, or those criminals. No, not them, your mind is too at ease. I felt your gaze over me, I can feel your desire. Does it bother you that I’m so different from you?” Raven asked, as Cleverness focused her mind.  
“Woah…um, no, we’re all pretty different here, and yeah – I am thinking about you, but I’m not sure what emotion you have here. Is this your intelligence?” he asked.  
“Correct. This is easy to focus, as it’s not something that likes to be set loose on anything it puts in its view,” she said.  
“Okay, you’re doing well, keep it up,” he said.

She nodded and the glasses disappeared as Raven’s next emotion filled her senses. Her eyes turned bright purple as a small grin appeared on her face. Her gaze was so enticing to his eyes. He felt as though he could stare at her forever.

“Robin. I loved our morning, you were so sweet – too sweet to resist. I thought you’d like me more if we were closer. Kissing you was just… amazing, and I want to keep you close so I can do it whenever I need to. I want to keep writing with you too, and to you,” she said in a seductive tone.  
“I love our morning too and I want to be closer to you too. Um…am I dreaming?” he asked, smiling at her.  
“No, you’re just talking to my little passionate self,” she said.  
“I like it a lot, you make me want to kiss you,” he said, with a grin.  
“You’ll have to keep it to yourself for now, I don’t think this next one is going to be so nice,” she said, her eyes returning to normal.

Raven felt Hatred rush into her senses. Hatred pleaded with Raven to try her powers, her newly enhanced demonic form.

“Robin, I’m going to let this one out completely, but don’t worry – I’ll be in control. Do you trust me?” she asked.  
“Yeah, I trust you, just be careful,” he said.

Closing her eyes, Raven felt Hatred boost her power, feeling energy surge through her, electrifying her senses. When she opened her eyes, they were deep red, and she had the cruelest scowl on her face.  
“No…” Robin said as he recognized the emotion.

She closed her eyes again. She grew to a height of over twice her size, towering over Robin, then she tensed as two small horns grew out of her head. Dark tendrils appeared out from under her cloak as they writhed on the floor, each encased in flames. A tiny puff of smoke blew out from under her eyelids with every blink. A small dark shadow in her eyes made Robin reach for his bo staff. He couldn’t tell what it was, he only felt it’s insidious gaze.

As Robin held his extended bo staff out in front of him, Raven glided forward, seeming to phase in and out of view as she moved. Lights over their heads flickered. He backed up off of the couch when she got closer. A few of the tendrils that surrounded her reached towards him, one latched onto his bo staff, the other two wrapped around his arms. They slowly lifted him off of the ground.

“Raven!” he shouted.  
“Do you still trust me?” she asked in her deep voice.  
“No, put me down! You’re not Raven!” he shouted.  
“Robin. Please…”  
“Put. Me. Down,” he said.

The tendrils lowered him back to the couch and retreated. Raven shrank back to her normal size and her eyes were back to the original color. She fell to the floor on her hands and knees. 

Robin cautiously went over to her and reached out to help her up. A wall of her power sprung up, shoving him back as she swiftly stood and crossed to the window. The wall disappeared and he looked at her.

“Raven, what’s wrong?” he asked.

She didn’t say anything, she just stared out the window. He walked over and stood next to her. He looked at her.

“Raven?” he asked.  
“You were afraid of me. You thought I was a threat,” she said.  
“I…didn’t think you were still in control. I thought that was your father’s kind of thing,” he said.  
“I’m half demon Robin, that side of me exists and its part of who I am, it’s part of where my power comes from,” she said.  
“I’m sorry, you surprised me,” he said.  
“You know I would never hurt you. Have I ever hurt you?” she asked.  
“No, you haven’t. Uh, what emotion was that, anyway?” he asked.  
“That was Hatred. Up until now, I had her locked away in my mind, but I needed to work out a few things with all of my emotions – so I let her out. Hatred is part of why I’m feeling better and how I’ll keep getting better. If I don’t use her, I’ll never be able to be myself around you without being worried, and my powers will suffer for it,” she explained.  
“Hatred, huh? I think I’ve only seen that one a couple times. I promise I’ll try harder next time,” he said.  
“We’ll try this again some other time,” she said, with a heavy sigh.  
“Okay,” he said, cautiously putting his arm around her.

To his surprise, she rested her head on his shoulder as they looked out the window. He dared not say anything, worried about upsetting her again. He knew why she was so upset, she only wanted him to accept her, trust her, and know her as they became closer. 

Raven didn’t want to ruin the moment, she hoped he wouldn’t either. Looking out over water towards the city, she felt her mind breathe a sigh of relief as Hatred cleared the last of Trigon’s demons out of her memory tower, and it gave her a new vision of the future. She flinched, it had taken her by surprise, and she smiled.

“Want to start the first movie?” Raven asked, breaking the silence.  
“You got it,” Robin said.

They went over to the couch and put their feet up, sitting side by side, and as Robin picked up the remote, his communicator went off. He frowned and put his mask on before answering it. Cyborg’s face came into view on the small circular screen.

“Cyborg, what’s the situation?” Robin asked.  
“We’re working on that. Man, this turned out to be way more than some gang looking to sell plans for a reactor, but we’re spinning our wheels here. The closer we get to finding the one behind this shady stuff, the worse this all sounds. Batman has us combing the city to find more criminals involved with this stuff, and we’re about out of city, so we should find them soon, unless we missed something. How are things back home?” Cyborg asked.  
“It was quiet for Raven and I until we found out that Slade and Penguin might be causing trouble, and Penguin is involved with whoever you’re looking for. He’ll be flying in soon and we’re going to take him down before he can cause any harm. How are Beast Boy and Starfire?” Robin asked.  
“They’re fine, getting annoyed at Barman like me, but fine,” Cyborg said.  
“I know that annoyance really well. Hey, you three watch yourselves, Gotham’s crime is a lot more dangerous than the kind we’re used to,” Robin said.  
“Yeah, we’ve seen some of that. I don’t really want to talk about it. How’s Rae? Any better?” Cyborg asked.  
“I’m right here. Yes, I’m starting to feel better, glad to see you haven’t killed Beast Boy yet, did you remember that that’s my job?” Raven asked.  
“Nah, we worked it out,” Cyborg said with a laugh.  
“Glad to hear it,” Robin said.  
“I gotta go, supposed to check some place out before I head back to Batman for the night, night you two,” Cyborg said.  
“Night, be careful,” Raven said.

Robin turned off the communicator and put it back on his utility belt. He sighed and turned on the TV, getting their first horror movie ready. Raven looked to him, waiting for him to say something.

“We should be there with them,” Robin said, pressing more buttons the remote.  
“I know. But they can handle themselves,” she said.  
“I guess that’s true,” he said.  
“You know it’s true,” she said.  
“Yeah…so wanna watch the movie?” he asked.  
“Um, hang on,” she said.

Reaching up, Raven carefully peeled Robin’s mask off and dropped it on the couch next to them. He smiled and put his arm around her as he started the first movie.

RRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrRRRRRRR

Robin and Raven had made it through two of the four movies before dinner. He ordered them their own pizza to share, for once not having to worry about the mad rush to get pieces before it was all gone. Once they were done, Robin went over to the couch, waiting for Raven to join him. She went to the kitchen and pushed a panel on the countertop. Something beeped, which made Robin turn around and look at Raven. She moved the panel aside and pulled out a wine bottle. Bending down, she pulled two wine glasses out from under the sink. Robin raised his eyebrow.

“How did you get that?” he asked.  
“I saved the owner of this wine shop in the city during one of our cases, and to repay me, he promised me a free bottle of wine every few weeks, if I wanted it. I don’t go that often, mostly because I don’t get a chance to have some without being seen, but yeah. Do you want some?” she asked, pouring a glass for herself first.  
“Sure. It’s been a while since I had any, is it red or white?” he asked.  
“Red,” she said, pouring a second glass and leaving the bottle out.

She carried both glasses over to the couch and handed one to Robin, taking a seat next to him and taking a long sip from her glass. He took a sip of his, then another, and turned to Raven.

“I like it, thanks for sharing,” he said.  
“Anytime,” she said, taking another sip.  
“Can I ask you something?”  
“What is it?”  
“Did you ever think this could happen before now? You and I, becoming something more than friends?”  
“I’ve thought about it before and yes, I guess I thought you or I would try to make a move, but I didn’t think it would have been this easy for me to do. I thought my emotions wouldn’t let me try.”  
“When did you think about making the first move?”  
“Um, I think it was after we stopped my father from destroying the world. I remember waiting for you to say something, anything along the lines of pushing our boundaries as friends, and dreading it, but also wanting it. I don’t know, I’m weird. Obviously, you never did, and I never asked why. What about you, did you ever think this could happen?”  
“Yeah, I thought about it quite a bit when our bond had started, and during the trouble we had with your father. I could have talked to you then, but you always seemed closed off and annoyed when I wanted to tell you something like that. I might’ve made the first move, but I guess Starfire kinda got in the way of that too. Maybe I’m just dumb like that.”  
“No, you weren’t dumb. At least I didn’t think so,” she said, taking another sip of her wine.  
“Did you think Starfire and I had a chance?”   
“Of course you had a chance, but I wouldn’t say it was a very good one. Others might disagree. Why are you asking me all of this?”  
“I’m curious, really, because this is sudden for us, it just doesn’t feel like it, you know?”  
“Yeah. I think I know what you mean, but we’ve been close for a long time, it’s not that surprising.”  
“I guess so. I wonder what the rest of the team will think.”  
“Oh, they’ll lose their minds trying to come to terms with it, no question.”

Robin laughed and took another long sip of his wine. He picked up the remote and started up the next movie. Raven finished her glass and went to refill it. She came back with a full glass and the bottle. They laid back on the couch, drinking, and laughing at the over the top horror movie.   
Raven was the first to feel tipsy, wrapping her arms around Robin and curling up next to him to feel more grounded. She was having fun, she didn’t regret the next few glasses. Robin felt tipsy when Raven was approaching the point of being near drunk. They kept making fun of the movie and laughing with each other as the night went on. He had been the one to finish the bottle, now about as inebriated as Raven. When the movie finished, he started kissing her, running his hands over her, while she wrapped her legs around him and pulled him closer to her. 

RrR

The first to wake up the next morning was Robin. His eyes struggled to open. He put his hand over his forehead as he felt a stabbing headache come on. It took him a moment to orient himself and realize that his hand and arm were bare. Looking down, he saw a long, thick blanket covering him up to his shoulders at one end, and covering Raven up to her neck at the other end on the couch. Worried, he lifted up his section of the blanket, relieved to find that his boxer briefs were still on, other than those, he didn’t have anything else on.

A small groan came from Raven at the other end of the couch. Robin shut his eyes, pretending to be asleep; he didn’t want to embarrass her. She squinted as she sat up, clutching the blanket to her chest, rubbing her eyes, and then holding her head. Then she looked down and noticed what Robin had, she was only wearing her underwear. She looked at Robin and whispered, “Robin, are you awake?”

He stayed silent, still acting like he was sleeping. She sighed and swung her legs out from under the blanket and onto the floor, standing up slowly and turning away from Robin – stretching. Curious, he opened his eyes a little, seeing Raven in full view, half-naked. He was surprised to see that Raven had a tattoo on her upper back of a black raven with its wings outstretched. She bent down to collect her leotard, cloak, and belt. Putting on her leotard over her black bra and panties, she zipped it up and concealed the zipper. As she started to turn around, he shut his eyes again. She tied her belt around her back and clasped her cloak around her neck, then slipped her boots on.

She walked over to him and ran her fingers along his shoulder, her cheeks slightly red as she noticed his uniform strewn across the floor, knowing that he was only wearing his underwear.

“Robin, wake up,” Raven said.

Groaning, he slowly opened his eyes.

“Morning…Uh, do you know what all we did last night?” Robin asked.  
“Yeah, don’t worry, we um, we didn’t get that far,” Raven said.  
“Good, I want to be sober if we ever decide to go further,” he said.  
“This was stupid,” she said, looking down.  
“Sure, but we had fun, didn’t we?” he asked, smiling at her.  
“Yeah, I guess we did,” she said, returning a small smile.  
“Oh, here’s the bottle,” he said, handing her the empty wine bottle.  
“Right. Um, you get dressed, and I’ll make us some coffee…over there,” she said, blushing a little before she walked toward the kitchen with the empty wine bottle.  
“So what did we do? My memory is a little fuzzy,” he asked, as he stood up and started putting his uniform on.  
“I remember. We made out for a while, then we got tired, you got us a blanket, we took off our uniforms, kissed, and fell asleep while the last movie played,” she said, as she prepared their coffee.  
“Sounds like a good time to me,” he said.

Robin pulled his tights on, clipped his utility belt around his waist, and slipped his boots on. He looked for his shirt but didn’t see it, his gloves and cape were also missing. 

“Looking for these?” Raven asked, pointing to his missing effects on the kitchen counter.  
“I know you moved those,” he said, walking over.  
“Can you prove it?” she asked as she grinned at him, watching him walk over.  
“No, but I know you want me shirtless,” he said,” you said that last night.”  
“So you do remember part of that. Fine, I do, but you liked looking at me just as much, if not more,” she said.  
“I won’t deny that,” he said with a grin as he grabbed his shirt and put it on, followed by his gloves and cape.

She poured them both some coffee and joined him at the table off to the side of the room. They drank slowly, sitting across from one another, hoping their heads would stop aching. He took out his communicator and checked to see if there were any updates or messages they might have missed.

“You know, I like those two little black bows you have on your lingerie, and that tattoo is very ‘you’,” he said with a sly grin.  
Raven froze as her face turned bright red.   
“Tell anyone and you’re dead. How much did you see?” she asked.  
“Believe me, not enough,” he said.  
“Good.”  
“What about you?”  
“No, I didn’t see much either. Um, not that there’s not much to see.”  
“Don’t worry, I knew what you meant,” he said.  
“Right.”  
“I think you were laying on top of me for part of the night.”  
“Yeah… Can we change the subject, please?” she asked.

He nodded and took a sip of his coffee. He could tell that she was a little uncomfortable and probably kicking herself for last night. There was so much he wanted to say, to ask her, but knew the moment wasn’t right. She put her coffee cup down and set her elbows on the table, putting her face in her hands. 

“You okay?” he asked.  
“Sort of, just the hangover, I guess. I’ve never handled headaches well,” she said.  
“I was going to ask if you wanted to try to test your emotions again, but neither of us are probably up for it.”  
“We can, just give me some time to try and get over this first.”  
“You got it.”


	9. Trouble and Despair

Chapter 9: Trouble and Despair

“In the darkest, lowest section of the tower’s underbelly, Hatred had dug a pit. And into that pit went all that Despair had spawned to replenish the forces that Hatred destroyed. Raven was feeling better, her tower showed it, as her emotions worked to redecorate and renovate the halls and rooms. Despair was still being a nuisance, still managing to find a nugget of power here and there with which to unintentionally spawn more of Trigon’s soldiers. The other emotions did their best to keep her from accessing Raven’s power, but they couldn’t do everything. Eventually, she would be left to her own devices and cause trouble for Raven, even if she was going to lose most of her influence on Raven’s psyche to Hatred.”

Here goes nothing, Robin thought as he walked down the hall to Raven’s room. It was later in the day and he was due to try and help Raven with her emotions again. He had worked out, got cleaned up, and did some searching on the Titans computer. Raven had done her own exercises, cleaned up, read, and meditated. They weren’t purposefully avoiding each other, but they did want their own space for a while. He had agreed to meet her later, after she had set up a few things. 

When he turned the corner, his communicator went off.

“Damn it,” Robin said. He put his mask back on and pulled out his communicator. It was Beast Boy.  
“Beast Boy, what’s the situation?” Robin asked.  
“Huh? Nothing, dude, just running around Gotham looking for these guys, got bored, so I figured I’d see what’s up back home,” Beast Boy said.  
“It’s quiet, but it won’t be soon, Penguin will be in the city soon and we need to-,” Robin said.  
“No, dude, I mean – how are you dealing with being stuck with Raven?” Beast Boy asked.  
“Uh. It’s been fun, I’m helping her feel better, and we’re just hanging out,” Robin said.  
“Really?! Oh, right, I forgot she likes you, bet she’s still mad at me.”  
“I don’t know, she hasn’t said anything about you.”  
“Yeah, she’s still mad.”  
“I can ask, why is it bothering you?”  
“Uhh, I don’t like it when she hates me, I was just making a joke trying to get her to laugh.”  
“You’re still her friend, I’m sure she’ll understand. Why don’t you try and call her?”  
“I tried this morning, she didn’t answer.”  
“She took a while to wake up this morning, maybe she slept through the communicator’s tone.”  
“Maybe. Can you talk to her? Tell her I’m sorry and that I’ll do something with her when I get back, take her somewhere, or something?”  
“Beast Boy, is there something going on between you two?”  
“Dude! No way! I mean I like her, but nothing’s happening. I just don’t want her to have me on her shit list.”   
“But you’re going to ask her out when you get back?”  
“Yeah, as a friend, I doubt she’d say yes if it was for another reason.”  
“Okay, I’ll talk to her.”  
“Cool, thanks. So uh, how did you deal with Batman before we started the Titans?”  
“Alfred helped me get through the day, usually. Otherwise, I just had to push through everything on my own, it wasn’t easy.”  
“Yeah, I guess. I gotta go, have to get back to finding these guys. See you Robin.”  
“Later, Beast Boy.”

Putting his communicator away, Robin continued on his way to Raven’s room. He wondered if everything Beast Boy had said was true. He could always ask Raven. Also, he was irritated that Batman hadn’t contacted him to tell him anything all day. Batman had the most high tech communications hardware with him, it wouldn’t take any effort for him to call. 

Robin reached Raven’s room and knocked on her door.

“Come in, Robin,” he heard Raven say through the door.

The door slid open and he walked in, stopping short when he looked around. There were several cracks in the ceiling, the floor, and almost everything seemed out of place. Stacks of books were sitting next to the shelves, as Raven had finished sorting them. Her bedsheets were messed up and her bottle of sleeping pills was on her pillow next to her meditation mirror. The room was lit by candles that were placed in a circle on the floor next to her bed around some strange symbol Raven had drawn on her floor. More lit candles were strewn about in different places. As for Raven herself, she was seated cross-legged on her bed as though she had just stopped meditating. He took off his mask and put it in his belt. She smiled at him, then grinned.

“Come here,” Raven said.

He nodded and crossed the room to her bed, smiling at her as he walked over.

“Now what?” he asked.  
“Kiss me,” she said.

With a grin, he bent down, then tipped her head back and pressed his lips to hers. She took his free hand in hers and led him down to sit beside her. He broke away and smiled, putting his arm around her.

“Good enough?” he asked with a small grin.

She nodded as she grinned back at him.

“For now. What kept you?” she asked.  
“Beast Boy called to talk, didn’t have any updates, just asked how we were,” he said.  
“And what did you say?”  
“Don’t worry, I didn’t tell him what’s been going on between us. I said we were alright, just hanging out, waiting for a chance to do something, and that I’m helping you.”  
“Anything else?”  
“Yeah, are you still mad at him for what he said before they left?”  
“Yes.”  
“He wanted me to tell you that he’s sorry and when he gets back, he’ll make it up to you by doing something with you or going somewhere.”  
“It had better be good, or I’ll make sure he goes somewhere.”  
“Yeah, uh, Raven, is there anything going on between you and Beast Boy?”  
“Wh-Are you serious? No! Why would you even ask me that?”  
“Sorry, it just sounded like he was going to ask you out or something.”  
“Probably his poor phrasing of his intention. No, I have not gone out with him, nor will I be going out with him.”  
“Alright, glad that’s settled. Nothing has happened between you two though?”  
“We’ve had our moments, but no, come on – does he sound like my type? No chance we’re practically opposites or anything,” she said dryly  
“Well, no he doesn’t sound like your type, but neither do I.”  
“You actually do.”  
“Really?”  
“Yes. What about me, though? Am I your type?”  
“Yeah, definitely. Maybe he thinks you’re his type,” he teased.  
“Lucky me,” she said dryly.  
“So, where do we start with your emotions today? he asked.  
“Hatred again. This time, I’ll be standing in that circle of candles, I’ve used a spell that will stop Hatred from going straight to my demonic form. It will also trap everything else, so you don’t have to worry about me trying anything. I’m just focusing on channeling them,” she explained.  
“Okay, let’s get started, afterwards, do you want to go to dinner?” he asked.  
“That sounds nice, we’ll see.”

She got off the bed and stepped into the circle of candles. She sat cross-legged and rested her hands on her knees. After she took a few deep breaths, she picked up a book in front of her and flipped it open to the marked page. He sat on the bed, watching her.

“I’m going to start, just do what I said last time – keep me in the moment, talk to me if you feel you need to,” she said.  
“I will, and don’t worry, this will work out for you,” he said.  
“I really hope so,” she said.

Reading an incantation aloud, Raven focused her power as the candles burned brighter, each flame grew taller, stretching up to the ceiling, forming bars, a cage of fire. The symbol beneath her lit up in a dark blue light. The candles around the room dimmed, and the air smelled of smoke and lilacs. She looked at Robin and then closed her eyes.

“Azarath Metrion Zinthos,” she chanted.

She opened her eyes again. The violet in her eyes was replaced by pure red. Her stoic expression had been hijacked by a vicious scowl. She had not changed in any way aside from that, her spell was working. Robin looked into her eyes and saw the same thing he had last time that made him question if it was still Raven.

“Raven? How are you feeling?” he asked.  
“Angry! I’m tired of trying so hard to stay calm, only to have one emotion or another ruin me! No one else has to deal with this. Why does it have to be me? I know there are plenty who deserve this kind of mental torture!” she said.  
“Alright, uh, let it out,” he said, trying to be supportive while still unsure if it was still her.  
“I am letting it out, and it feels great. I hate my father for influencing me to believe I was nothing. That I was just a means to some end. I was his end! Still, I don’t feel liberated, because I,” she said angrily, pausing at the end.  
“It’s okay, Raven, because you what?”  
“Because I still feel his memory, he’s not gone. I’m afraid…and depressed, there’s so much that’s awful in the future.”  
Her angry expression turned to one of shock as her eyes changed from pure red to a deep gray. Her face fell, she started shaking as she hung her head.   
“Are you okay?” he asked.  
“No, this shouldn’t be happening, I need you to get me the bottle under my bed and that, hurry,” she said softly, pointing to the bottle of sleeping pills.

He crawled across the bed to her pillow, lying flat he reached under the bed and picked up the bottle then grabbed the pill bottle. He heard her breathing quickly and sniffling. When he turned around he saw her on her knees, her hands covering her face. She was crying. He approached her and held the pills and the bottle out in front of the fire cage.

“Azarath…Metrion Zinthos,” she said through tears.

The flames died and the blue symbol faded. She had started sweating profusely as tears ran down her cheeks. She grabbed the bottle from Robin’s hand and took three pills along with a long drink from the bottle. Falling to her side, she was lying on the ground, choking back tears. Robin knelt next to her and looked down at her sadly. He put his arms underneath her body and raised her back up to her knees. She hugged him tightly as she cried on his shoulder. Holding her close, he rubbed her back and kissed her neck.

“Robin, I’m sorry,” she said through her tears.  
“It’s okay, you don’t need to apologize for how you feel, I’m here for you, and I’m not going anywhere,” he said.  
“Promise me,” she said, holding him tighter.  
“Raven, I promise, I’m not going anywhere,” he said.

He couldn’t help but cry himself, her emotion was so strong – it had passed through their bond and he felt the effect of her depression. It was mind-numbing, soul crushing, and utterly isolating. He was holding her as much as she was holding him.

“We’ll figure this out, we’ll get you to feel better… Raven?” he asked.

Raven had fallen asleep, her head resting on his shoulder. He lifted her up and carried her to her bed, laying her down. Those sleeping pills must be great, he thought, pulling the sheets up to her neck. Robin sat on the edge of her bed, watching over her. She curled up under the covers and sniffed as she cried a little more in her sleep. He rested his hand on her shoulder, running it up and down her arm. It hurt to see her like this, he felt more tears swell up in his eyes and trickle down his face.

“Fight it, I know you can,” he said as he took her hand in his.

She groaned and adjusted her head on her pillow, which was getting damp from her tears. He squeezed her hand and looked at his boots, trying to control his own emotions. It was clear now what exactly she had been sleeping through, why she needed the pills at all. How she wasn’t a neurotic mess all the time amazed him. He could barely imagine feeling the way she did every day.

Red lights kicked on and the hated alarm began to blare. Trouble. Robin frowned and groaned. He bent down and kissed Raven’s forehead, squeezing her hand once more before standing up and hurrying out of her room. Bolting down the hall, he reached the living room and bounded over the couch. He checked the Titans computer to see what the problem was. 

A gang of thugs had broken into the building Robin had listed as his place when he gave his information to his criminal contact. They had probably come to deal with him since they got the reactor blueprints, couldn’t afford loose ends. Which meant that Penguin would be in the city soon, if he wasn’t already. Putting on his mask, he jumped out of the chair and raced down to the garage and hopped on his R-Cycle. Engaging the new rocket mode he and Cyborg had installed, he shot out of the garage, flying over the water and into the city. Once over the concrete and asphalt, he disengaged the rocket, and started driving toward the penthouse in the city.

He pulled up and hopped off his bike, pulling out his grappling hook and firing up to the roof, he scaled the wall and jumped onto the top of the tall building. Looking through the skylight below his feet, he saw a few armed thugs standing beneath him. He chucked a bird-a-rang through the glass. It exploded in smoke and released a blast of light that blinded them. Robin jumped down through the glass with his bo staff out, landing hard on one thug’s head, and then bashing the other two to the floor with his staff, knocking them out. 

The smoke cleared. Robin was surrounded by twenty armed thugs, all who had their guns trained on him. He froze, kicking himself for coming without help, for not being more careful. 

“Come on, bird boy, let’s see what you got!” one of the thugs said with a harsh chuckle.

He leapt up and back out of the skylight as the thugs opened fire. They rushed to where he had been standing and looked up. He was gone.

“Scared huh? Not surprised!” another thug said.  
“Get up there, spread out – find him,” a larger thug said.

Another bird-a-rang flew threw one of the windows and struck a thug in the back, electrifying him. As the others turned to look, Robin smashed through the opposite window, dropping another, larger smoke bomb. He kicked one thug in the back of the head as the smoke bomb hit the floor and detonated. The others fired wildly in the air. With precise strikes, Robin knocked out another six thugs in succession. He groaned as he twisted his wrist, swinging his bo staff through the throng of thugs, grunting as he kicked and knocked more of them to the hard floor. The smoke cleared once more.

There were five left, their guns trained on him. He hadn’t been fast enough. A small, black sphere – the size of a ping pong ball, bounced off the wall and landed in between Robin and the thugs. It released a high-pitch pinging sound and exploded in red smoke. A large, agile figure leapt out of the smoke with a sword raised and smashed one of the thugs, turned, slicing the other, and then swiping and gutting the remaining three. The figure stood and walked towards Robin, a red light emitting from one of the eye sockets through the smoke.

“Slade,” Robin said, narrowing his eyes.  
“Robin. I see you still need training, these men should be no match for you,” Slade said as he approached Robin, sheathing his sword.  
“What are you doing here? What are you planning?”  
“Relax, Robin. I’ve no interest in this destroying this little city of yours anymore – not when there are so many more opportunities to display my skill and be paid doing it. I am here to help you.”  
“With Penguin, right? Why?”  
“He is hurting my business, it makes me look weak and incompetent, and that is bad for my image in my other business. He will pay dearly for it. The best way for me to make him look like an incompetent fool is for you and your friends to be the ones to end his operation here.”  
“Who is he working for?”  
“That would spoil your investigation, wouldn’t it?”  
“Tell me, Slade!”  
“Patience. I’ll help you, if you help me. I’ve placed a tracker on Penguin’s shipment of illegal weapons, weapons that belonged to me, let Penguin move his shipment to Gotham, then you can put him in jail, and the shipment will lead you to his buyer if he is uncooperative. After you’re done, I want those weapons back.”  
“Fine, deal. Just tell me what’s going on and who’s involved.”  
“Remember, you learned this from Penguin’s men: The reactor plans are being used in the construction of a superweapon in Gotham City, the weapons being shipped there are for its security staff, when built – the superweapon will be used to hold Gotham hostage,” Slade explained, handing Robin the weapons tracker.  
“Who is Penguin working for?” Robin asked, taking the tracker and putting it on his belt.  
“Joker.”

Robin flinched. He had sent his friends to Gotham to help Batman to fight the Joker. In that moment, he hated Batman, he hated Joker, he hated Slade, he hated Penguin, and he especially hated himself. It would shock him if any of his team came back unscathed. This was worse than he could have imagined.

“Why Joker?” Robin asked softly.  
“I don’t know, perhaps he was bored. I hope you and your friends are up for the challenge.”  
“We’ll see, some of them are in Gotham now investigating.”  
“So how do you expect to stop Penguin as well?”  
“Raven and I are here, we can take care of Penguin.”  
“Ah, I see you left the strongest at home and sent the weakest to the wolves.”  
“No, they can handle themselves just as well as she and I can!”  
“Whatever you say. A word of advice, you may want to get yourself examined by a professional, as it seems your judgment is impaired, and lacking. I’ll be in touch, Robin,” Slade said as he walked into the darkness and disappeared. 

Shaking his head as he fumed, Robin took out his communicator and called Batman immediately, once he was sure Slade was gone. It took a while for Batman to answer, Robin walked around and made sure the thugs were still out cold.

“Dick, what have you learned?” Batman asked, appearing on his communicator.  
“Penguin is working for Joker, Joker is planning to hold Gotham hostage with a superweapon he’s building using the reactor he built with the blueprints. Slade put a tracker on the weapons shipment so it will lead us to Joker, Raven and I will go after Penguin once the shipment has left for Gotham,” Robin explained.  
“Good work, get the frequency and details of the tracking device and send it to me as soon as you can. We’ll look for Joker here,” Batman said.  
“Bruce. Don’t let anything happen to my friends.”  
“I’ll protect them. You have my word.”  
“Thanks, good luck.”

Batman nodded and ended the call. Robin called the police and let them know that the thugs needed to be picked up and taken to prison. He closed his communicator and jumped up through the skylight and used his grappling hook to lower himself back down the building. His bike was waiting, parked next to a mailbox. Walking over, he heard the door to the building open. He looked to the door. Three armed thugs walked out, pointing their guns at him. Turning around, he saw another group of them closing in on him. 

The night sky seemed to grow darker, street lights flickered rapidly before going out. Beside Robin’s motorcycle, Raven rose out of the ground, towering over him and the thugs in her demonic form. Two dark tendrils swiped at two thugs and hoisted them into the air, then slammed them into the asphalt. Several thugs fled for their lives, terrified, as the rest opened fire. Robin lashed out at the thugs by the door, taking them down as they fired at Raven. Tendrils, fire, and black hands seized the other thugs one by one – knocking them out, sending them running, or bashing them into objects that were pulled towards them. Robin flung the thug into the air, to be caught by Raven, who slammed him into the ground. As Robin jumped, a tendril wrapped around his waist and propelled him towards the last thug, his bo staff at the ready. The last thug fell as he was bashed by Robin.

Raven returned to her normal self and angrily walked over to Robin.

“You promised,” she said.  
“I’m sorry – the alarm went off and I had to go after them by myself, you were out cold. I wanted to stay with you, I knew you needed me,” he said.  
She sighed and shook her head, then took a deep breath and shut her eyes. Opening them again, she was calm, and collected.  
“Fine, I understand, I’m just glad you’re alright.”  
“Thanks for the rescue, you were great.”  
“Don’t mention it. Hmm…”  
“What?”  
“Why don’t we go to dinner? You can tell me all about this and we can have some fun.”  
“You read my mind.”  
“We can get another bottle of wine too, if you like.”  
“How could I say no to that?”

They got on his bike and rode off, passing cop cars and police vans that had arrived to collect the thugs. As they rode through the city, they decided on going to an Italian restaurant for dinner. Once they found the place, got a table, and had their food in front of them – Robin told Raven everything that Slade had said. He was surprised when she flinched when he mentioned the Joker, but she told him that she learned about Joker from her brief time in Robin’s mind. They ate, discussing what they would do, how they would deal with Penguin, and the possibility of going to Gotham. When they finished eating, they rode over to the wine shop Raven had mentioned before. He got off the bike and walked inside. The owner saw Raven outside on Robin’s bike and handed Robin a bottle of the same wine they had before.

“Hey, how often does she come and get one of these?” Robin asked.  
“Well, when she started coming by, I’d see her maybe once every two months, but since…oh, I don’t know, maybe four or five months back, I’ve seen her in here every other week, but this month she’s been here once a week. Is she okay?” the owner asked.  
“She is just dealing with a lot right now, but she’s getting better.”  
“I hope that helps,” the owner said, indicating the wine, “and I hope she’s not going too crazy with it.”  
“No, she’s responsible, at least from what I’ve seen.”  
“Oh, good. For future reference, are you her boyfriend?”  
“I…guess you could say that, yeah, I’m Robin.”  
“I know your name, I was just curious. Give her my best.”  
“I will, and please don’t tell anyone we’re a couple, we haven’t been together long.”  
“Not to worry, I won’t, have a good evening.”  
“You too.”

Taking the wine, Robin left the shop and handed the bottle to Raven, he hopped on the front of the bike and drove them back to the tower. He went to the living room and uploaded the tracker’s frequency and details to the Titan computer and sent it to Batman as he had requested. Raven put the wine in the compartment behind the panel in the kitchen. She plopped down on the couch and he joined her once the tracker details had been sent.

“So, I talked to the shop owner,” Robin said.  
“Okay, and?” Raven asked.  
“Sounds like you’ve been going there a lot,” he said.  
“Yeah, I have, I’m not proud of it, but it does help me cope.”  
“Why didn’t you tell me?”  
“I didn’t want a lecture.”  
“You think I would lecture you?”  
“I wasn’t sure what you would do.”  
“Okay, I guess that’s fair, I don’t know if I would tell anybody either if it were me.”  
“I’m…I’m pathetic, aren’t I?”  
“No, you’re not, don’t say that – you’re just not feeling well.”  
“I know.”  
“He asked me if I was your boyfriend,” he said abruptly.  
“And, um, what did you say?”  
“Uh, basically, I said yes.”  
“Oh…did you mean it?”  
“I think I did, but…what about you?”  
“What? Am I your girlfriend?”  
“Yeah, uh, do you think you are?”  
“Umm…yes, I think so.”  
“So, it’s official.”  
“Between us, yes, I just don’t know if we should let the others know quite yet.”  
“Yeah, same here, but they’re not here – so we don’t have to worry about it.”  
“Plenty of other things to worry about,” she said with a sigh, “I feel drained.”  
“I’m not surprised, after what happened earlier. You were feeling so bad, you made me cry.”  
“I know.”  
“Even after you fell asleep, you were still crying.”  
“I was?”  
“Yeah.”  
“That’s…really bad.”  
“Yeah.”

She looked down at the floor, crossing her arms across her chest. He put his arm around her and gently pulled her close. She sighed and shut her eyes, taking deep breaths.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but, do you want to sleep with me tonight in my room? Maybe it will help you,” he said.  
“No, but thank you. Maybe another night,” she said.  
“Then come and wake me up if you’re feeling bad again, I’m here if you need me,” he said.  
“Thank you,” she said as she smiled.

Raven turned to Robin and kissed him softly on his lips. She broke away and rested her head on his shoulder, putting her arms around him. They sat like that for a while until Raven got tired and went to bed. Robin stayed up, watching TV, and eating some popcorn as he tried to relax so he could go to bed. In the back of his mind for the past few hours, he had heard the faint, insane, maniacal clown laugh of the Joker. He was worried about his friends and didn’t know if he could handle losing one of them, or all of them. Despite Batman’s assurance, he couldn’t help but picture the death of Starfire, of Cyborg, of Beast Boy, of Raven, along his own death. 

Turning off the TV, Robin walked back to his room and shut the door. He got out of his uniform and laid down on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He wished Raven had said yes to his invitation, he could use someone to talk him out of this. Why did it have to be the Joker?


	10. The Demon Within

Chapter 10: The Demon Within

“In the days of darkness, mortals feared not the danger of their own wrath, nor did they fear the beasts that haunted their environment, they feared the unknown terror that lurks in the dark. They feared the manifestations of the darkest part of their imaginations. Collected into one being, Trigon represented the totality of horror that would be the end of all things. Destroyed by his own daughter, all that remains of him are her memories of his atrocities – which are locked away beneath Hatred’s cell. Raven kept Trigon and their secret from the world, along with certain other suppressed memories.”

It was in the dead of night. Titans Tower was quiet. Until Raven bolted up in bed, fully awake, seething, with tears on her face. She got up, left her cloak, and walked out of her room. 

Robin was sound asleep, laying on his back under his sheets. He turned his head and yawned in his sleep. Raven opened his door and crossed over to his bed, she sat down next to him and shook him awake.

“Robin, wake up,” she said.

He slowly opened his eyes and sat up quickly when he saw her face.

“Raven, what’s wrong?” he asked.  
“I need your help,” she said sadly.  
“Sure, what is it?”  
“Come with me.”

She helped him out of bed and they went back to her room together. She grabbed her mediation mirror off of her dresser and rejoined him. They sat on the floor across from each other. She took both of his hands, put her mirror between them, and then took a deep breath. He squeezed her hands and smiled at her encouragingly.

“I’m bringing you into my mind to talk with a few of my emotions, while I deal with the problem causing the noise in my mind,” she said.  
“Uh, okay, is there anything I need to know?” he asked.  
“They will tell you when we find them. Just look at the mirror and repeat after me. Azarath Metrion Zinthos.”  
“Azarath Metrion Zinthos.”

A large black hand of Raven’s power reached out of the mirror and pulled both of them inside. They landed outside Raven’s memory tower. Surrounding them was a great army of Trigon’s demon force, being ripped apart systematically by Hatred, Courage, Happiness, Hunger, and more of Raven’s emotions. Raven took him over to the door of the tower.

“Cleverness will take you from here, I need to stay and help deal with that army,” she said.  
“I think I should help you fight them,” he said.  
“You’re helping me fight them by going with Cleverness, trust me.”

With a reluctant nod, he walked inside the tower and met Cleverness. He followed Cleverness down the hall and up the spiral staircase to another floor. She led him to a large ornate door at the end of the hall and let him inside with her key. He stood in large, dim, warm room filled with books. He looked up and couldn’t find the ceiling, instead he saw bookshelves extending along the wall going all the way up, all fully packed with books and scrolls. In the center of the room sat a crafted desk with two chairs. Cleverness sat in the chair opposite him as he took a seat. The room was calming and he felt more focused as he glanced around, his gaze resting on Cleverness.

“Listen to me very carefully, as we don’t have a lot of time, and what I’m about to tell you is critical to solving Raven’s problem. I’m sure by now you know that as an empath, she can pick up on what others are feeling, and anticipate their thoughts, yes?” Cleverness asked.  
“Yeah, I know that, the whole team knows. It’s part of how she controls her power too, right?” Robin asked.  
“For the most part, but it’s more than that. Being able to sense the emotions of others also allows her to take on the other person’s point of view, when she’s not focusing inwardly, even if she disagrees with it or finds it repulsive, it’s part of how she created her bond with you. Her emotions can be reflected in you, and yours in her. And it is for this reason that I’ve asked to speak to you,” Cleverness said.  
“Why didn’t she tell me all of this?” Robin asked.  
“She didn’t want anyone else in her mind, until now of course. It’s important that you’re here, it means she is comfortable with you knowing more. Now that you do, you can help her get control of Despair, and end this terrible bout of depression.”  
“I’m glad she trusts me, but how exactly do I help her?”  
“Hatred and Passion regret that they couldn’t be here to assist in explaining this to you. When you sit down with her again to test her emotions, you will need to coerce her into feeling certain emotions by expressing them yourself. Remember, Passion first, then Hatred, and finally Despair. Passion serves as a buffer to distract her, while Hatred will take full control to prepare her to fully embrace Despair, she needs to know the totality of her depression in order to get through it. Hatred will shove Despair into a new cell we’ve crafted, but you’ll have to deal with the fallout. Raven won’t take it well, neither will you, but it will end this suffering.”  
“So, I need to be passionate, then angry, and then feel sad and afraid to make her feel the same way?”  
“Yes.”  
“How long does she need to feel sad and afraid?”  
“Not long, just don’t let her knock herself out with wine or her pills. Pull her through it however you can. You will need to get yourself through it as well.”  
“Then she’ll be fine?”  
“She will be better than ever and that is not just a saying.”  
“If I tell you something, will she know I said it?”  
“It will come across to her as a thought, but she won’t know it as a fact.”  
“I’ve been… thinking about it a lot and I don’t know if I even believe it yet, but…I think I’m in love with her. Uh, and, I’m worried she’ll run away if I bring it up.”

With a calculated smile, Cleverness reached across the desk and took his hand in hers.

“I…can’t tell implicitly you what she would think, or what she is thinking without her permission, although I can suggest that you go and tell Passion what you told me, if you want a better idea of how Raven would react. You still have some time to find Passion and meet with her before Raven comes to collect you. Try the door with an ‘R’ on the handle downstairs.”

Robin nodded and smiled, squeezing Cleverness’s hand. They stood up and walked back to the door. He opened the door for Cleverness and they headed for the stairs, going back down to the ground floor. Cleverness stopped him and then pointed to a door before walking away, leaving him standing there. Looking at the doorknob, he traced the ‘R’ that was engraved on the handle, and looked down at his chest. It was the same as the one that was on his uniform. He opened the door and walked inside the dark room. When he shut it behind him, the lights turned on overhead. His mouth fell open as he saw the contents of the room.

There were pictures, mementos, books, and small displays that all pertained to him. Some of them focused on he and Raven. As he walked around, looking at everything, he could see scenes in his mind, recalling everything that he looked at. He smiled. It was hard not to. Turning around, he was greeted by Passion. She grinned as she approached him, her eyes drawing him in seductively.

“You are by far, the best surprise I’ve had all week,” Passion said.  
“What is this room?” Robin asked.  
“It’s your room, silly. You and the other Titans all have one, but they aren’t as special, or as large as yours, believe me.”

Robin looked down at a table, picking up the framed photo of he and Starfire kissing in Tokyo. He saw that it was dark red and touching it gave him a jolt, as he felt bad.

“Why is this in here? And why is it red?”  
“It has to do with you, that’s why it’s in here. As for the color, let’s just say Raven wasn’t as happy for you two as she let on.”  
“Raven was jealous? I don’t believe it.”  
“Believe it, it’s true. I’m glad you’re here, I wanted to show you something.”

Passion walked away and went into the back of the room, she took a framed photo of Raven in white hugging Robin after they defeated Trigon off of the wall and unlocked a wall safe. Reaching in, she pulled out another photo and walked back over to him with it. She handed it to him and smiled. It was a photo of Robin and Raven kissing, but it wasn’t recent, and Robin looked worse for wear. They were in the evidence room, next to the desk. 

“When did this happen? I don’t remember it at all,” Robin asked.  
“You were a little intoxicated, it’s a wonder you managed to stand up, but then you are the boy wonder, aren’t you? That happened a couple months after you broke up with Starfire. You were stressed over a case and Star was still angry at you for ending your relationship. That bottle of whiskey you had in your desk was a good friend to you that day. Raven came in to check on you, said she was worried, saw the bottle and told you that you needed help. You stood up and put your arms around her, then said, or slurred-,” Passion explained.  
“’No, I need you, but I don’t deserve you’,” Robin finished, as he remembered his words.  
“More or less, yes. Then you kissed her. And she kissed back.”  
“I guess I was too drunk to remember. But why didn’t she talk to me about this?”  
“You know why. She was worried what it would mean for the two of you, how her emotions would handle possible rejection or acceptance of her feelings. She thought it was better for both of you if she didn’t say anything, so she suppressed the memory, made herself forget. And she counted on you not being able to remember.”  
“Then why are you telling me now?”  
“After what you two have been going through this week, I couldn’t let this stay hidden.”  
“That was our first kiss, and she kept it from me? I mean, I feel awful about how it happened, but…I would’ve really liked to have known. Maybe you shouldn’t have shown me.”  
“Forget what it is and see what it means, you both have a history, and it’s impossible to ignore the fact that to an extent, you’ve always been a little crazy about each other. But, why are you here? I thought you and Cleverness were talking.”  
“I’ve been… thinking about it a lot and I don’t know if I believe it yet, but…I think I’m in love with her. And, I’m worried she’ll run away if I bring it up.” Robin said, repeating what he had told Cleverness. 

A large smile spread itself across Passion’s face as she hugged Robin tightly. He wrapped his arms around her and smiled too, taking it as a good sign.

“There’s something I wish I could say to you, but it has to come from her lips. I’ve been putting a good word in for you, boy wonder, she hasn’t felt this close to anyone. Keep helping her, be yourself, and I know you won’t be disappointed. Trust me, I don’t feel that she’ll run from you,” she said.

A large explosion shook the tower and made them jump. Letting go of Passion, Robin went to the door and listened. He heard a larger commotion in the hall and looked back to Passion.

“Go on, I won’t tell her you were in here,” Passion said.

He went out into the hall and shut the door quickly. A flurry of fireballs shot past him and collided with the door to the stairs. Raven, Hatred, and Courage were at the opposite end of the hall fighting off Trigon’s demons. Taking out his bo-staff, he dashed down the hall and bashed one of the demons with it. 

The fighting lasted for a while, as they all bashed and blasted the demon forces back out of the tower until the remainder retreated across the dark plain, away from the tower. Raven, Hatred, and Courage turned then turned to Robin. Hatred nodded to him. Raven gave a half smile. Courage gave him a high-five and cheered.

“Wooh! That’s how you kick a demon army’s ass! Who’s up for another wave?” Courage asked excitedly.  
“Here’s hoping there isn’t another wave,” Raven said.  
“If they know what’s good for them, they’ll stay the fuck away,” Hatred said.  
“Did you finish talking to Cleverness?” Raven asked Robin.  
“Yeah, I did, sounds like a good plan to help you,” he said.  
“Is it? I hope so.”  
“You don’t know?”  
“No, she doesn’t, and she can’t – if it’s going to work,” Hatred said.  
“I’m not worried Robin, I know you’ll do what you can,” Raven said.  
“I promise, I-Raven?” Robin asked.

Raven held her head and felt her eyelids grow heavy. She went over to Robin as her legs started to give out. He grabbed her and held her up. She knew she didn’t have long before she passed out, having both her and Robin in her mind was starting to exhaust her. She raised her arm up above her head to the sky. The black hand of her power picked them up and pulled them out of the mirror. They were back in her room. She slumped over as she passed out from exhaustion. 

He helped her up off the floor and walked her back over to her bed. Putting her back in bed, he pulled the sheets up to her chest. It was still late at night; they should both sleep more. He got her mirror and put it back on her dresser and then left her room. Returning to his own room, he got in his bed and sighed. It took him a little bit to fall asleep, as he was still going over things in his mind. He fell asleep as he was wondering how bad this ‘fallout’ from Raven’s depression would be for them.


	11. Throne of the Tyrant

Chapter 11: Throne of the Tyrant

"Hatred had been freed from two cells when Raven let her loose on Despair. The first required a key and approval from Raven, the second required recognition from Raven that Trigon no longer presided over Hatred's power. Free from Trigon's influence, Hatred now had to win the trust of not just Raven, but the other emotions, and Robin as well. Finally, Hatred had been given a new purpose, and a certain measure of trust. It was clear to Hatred that Raven's tower of memories had to be reordered if they hoped to permanently stop Despair's spawned armies, starting with the former seat of Trigon's influence, and ending with the guarded connection to Robin's mind. If their bond was growing and teetering on the edge of developing a deeper, more potent connection, it would require some renovations. Such was the reason Hatred gave for inviting Passion and Intelligence to join her."

Asleep and lost in dreams, Raven was allowed to rest while her emotions set about the daunting task of putting up new barriers, mending what had been damaged, and reordering her memory tower. Despair was placed in the care of a meticulously constructed cell in the dark dungeon that also housed Hatred's old cage. It was Hatred who saw to it that Raven would have a truly restful sleep, going so far as to knock out Despair. The other emotions were holding their own council as Hatred patrolled the halls, seeing that all was in its place. Righting overturned statues, correcting the many portraits hanging on the walls and ordering rooms that had been disturbed in the raids, Hatred began to renew her purpose to Raven. Trigon had always put Hatred at odds with the mind she inhabited, so acting as support to it was new to her. Planning the next move was never out of her mind, ever the vigilant crosshair; she would find the next target.

From Passion, she had learned of Robin's intentions. His commitment to helping Raven, the feelings he carried that may extend themselves beyond attraction and interest, even his recent appointment to help destroy the depression which hounded Raven's thoughts. The bond that connected his mind to her mind was foreign to him, so he was as much of an alien to Hatred as she was to him. He was important to Raven, so he would be important to her, Hatred concluded. If Hatred was going to be more pronounced in Raven's powers, in her actions, it might be helpful for Robin to know and understand more. Yet, he slept, and Hatred still had to establish herself in the memory tower again now that she was free. For her to reach across the bond to him in his dreams, she would need that former seat of power.

A plan in mind, Hatred strode purposefully through the halls, up the winding stairs, and to the floor of the tower which she had used to call home, before she was thrust into that cell. She found the door to the room she sought. It stood defiantly before her, challenging any that may pass, and torturing the very walls into which it was built. It was made of some dark stone with a twisted iron handle. The face of the door bore the mark of Scathe, forcing the intoxicating, poisonous visage of Trigon to Hatred. Through her, he had plundered his daughter's mind of power, knowledge, and strength.

Defacing that mark was the first thing she did.

Hatred held a hand over the mark and replaced it with a new symbol using her power; a raven's head done in some sort of blue etching was plastered over the old mark. Throwing the door open, Hatred walked into a grand, elegant, dusty, dark throne room and stood, taking in the old sight. A tall, red-stoned throne sat on an elevated platform that was accessed by a small set of steps in the center of the room. Narrow pillars ran parallel alongside a deep red carpet that led from the door to the seat of the throne. Bookcases stood against the walls in the dark, filled with prophecies of old and new that Trigon used. Spell tomes sat next to personal journals of Hatred. Glyphs were painted onto the walls above every bookcase, accenting the atmosphere of power that this room was meant to possess. Gemstones as deep crimson as Hatred's cloak were suspended in a few chandeliers overhead, illuminating the room in an intoxicating red.

Walking the length of the carpet to the throne, Hatred waved a hand overhead and the gemstones turned to a deep blue. As the new colored lights found the glyphs in the room, they bled their paint freely down the walls. Hatred reached her throne and gazed down at the seat. She seethed as she recalled how easily she had been manipulated and used against Raven by her father; she should have been stronger and resisted his will. Sitting down, she gripped the stone arms of the chair and slowly chanted Raven's mantra. A violet, solid circle of light appeared on the floor before Hatred's seat, and Passion rose out of it with her hand on her hip, and a smirk on her face.

"You called?" Passion asked.

"Yes. I need you to grant me access to Robin's room here, and I'll need the key to that door to his mind," Hatred said.

"No. Not happening. Raven wouldn't approve. She swore she wouldn't enter his mind again without his permission," Passion said firmly.

"I'm not going in. I just need to bring him here, or at least, I need to be able to speak with him," Hatred explained.

"But that's-."

"Allowed! She promised she wouldn't enter his mind, but he made no such promise to her. I won't let him stray, I want him here so we can work through some issues."

"What issues?" Passion asked, suspicious.

"His lack of trust in me, in Raven, and his role in ending her depression. Now, give me the key."

"I don't think so, maybe we should talk this over with the others first," Passion hesitated.

"There's not much time before they both wake up, I need to do this now. Don't test me, you know what happens if you do."

"Fine. I won't give you the key though, but I'll open the door and bring him to you. Good enough?"

"Just be quick about it," Hatred said curtly, "I'm assuming we'll have a lot to talk through."

With a nod, Passion vanished through the purple circle of light. Hatred rose from her throne once Passion was out of her sight and walked down the steps, and over to a desk with two black leather chairs sitting opposite each other near one of the many bookcases. She sat in one of them, her pure red four eyes scanning the nearest bookshelf for two particular volumes. She removed two leather-bound journals and set them on the desk before her. One of these journals she used to record Trigon's early manipulations of her and Raven, the second contained all that she had learned about Raven's power to form mental bonds with others from Trigon.

Influence that Hatred had possessed was used by Trigon to drive Raven to have such hopelessness in regards to the prophecy of her birth, which led to the end of the world that the Titans had prevented from being a permanent one. When it was over, Hatred's connection to Trigon was severed, and Raven found the power to fully bind and control Hatred, ability she had never had before. Time was wasted, Hatred believed, in being locked away. If she had been brought into the fold earlier, much of her strife could have been prevented. Despair wouldn't have had the power to depress Raven and Raven's power would have been strong enough to fight the criminals of Jump City more effectively and efficiently. Instead, that power had dwindled, thanks to Despair's aimless worry.

A surge of power jolted through the tower. Hatred was aware of Robin's entrance before the other emotions were. To ensure they wouldn't interfere, Hatred did her best to mask his presence, as the others would see it as an intrusion, and might alert Raven. If she was made aware, she might wake, and eject him from her mind. Better that she rest and entrust this to me, Hatred resolved. The doors to the room swung open and Passion led Robin inside. His unmasked eyes met Hatred's and he visibly tensed. Passion turned him into a tight, warm embrace and then gave him a smile before she left him standing by the door. He turned to look at Hatred who sat across the room and regarded her with suspicion. He was in detective mode, his demeanor defensive.

"Did Passion tell you why you're here?" Hatred asked.

"Yeah, she said you want me to work with you to help Raven," Robin said.

"And you don't believe her?"

"I believe her, I just don't believe you. Every time Raven has been angry enough to show you to us, it has never ended well, for anybody."

"Yes, I know. That's part of why I asked you here, to help you understand. Come, sit down."

Hatred flipped both journals open before her. Robin stood, shifting his weight from one foot to the next, his eyes narrowed, unsure if he should do as she said. Tentatively, he stepped forward, and crossed to the chair opposite Hatred. His eyes never left her. He sat slowly, crossing his arms as he settled into the chair.

He regarded her silently, his gaze shifting from her to the unknown glyphs on the wall, then to the bookcases, and back to her. He frowned slightly, analyzing the situation. He couldn't put her association with Trigon out of his mind. He couldn't see her in a different light.

"Think you could have an open mind for this?" she asked.

"Doubt it," he said tersely.

"I'm not the enemy here, I never was."

"Then who?"

"Trigon. He used me as his anchor here, to get to Raven."

"Why didn't you or Raven try to stop him?"

"Who said we didn't try?"

Robin fell silent, looking down at the journals between them, then to the bookcase nearest them. He read the spines of the books, noting that most of them dealt with some date or time in Raven's life concerning her powers, Trigon, or Hatred's perspective as an emotion. He glanced back to the journals and took the one containing the early interaction between Hatred, Raven, and Trigon.

"Maybe you did. What could you tell me about them?" he asked.

"Anything you'd want to know is in the volume you're holding," she said.

"Yeah, it probably is, but we don't have the time for me to read the whole thing, do we?" he asked.

"True. What would you want to know?"

"Tell me about how she knew him…when he was introduced to her as her father."

"I will tell you anything I can, but you will be bound to the same secrecy. Under no circumstances do you reveal what I tell you. Is that understood?"

"I understand. I wouldn't betray her secrets."

"Their…relationship, if you could call it one, was parasitic. Her father used her for her power and life from the first, to dominate and destroy, to further his influence in the world. Destruction followed him, so it followed her. He came to her early in her life, when she was living amongst the monks of Azarath, under their protection. He coerced her, acting like a benevolent, doting father-figure in her mind, and she blindly followed that promise of a bond, as her curiosity and need got the best of her. She wasn't as cautious as she is now, wasn't so certain of her convictions. The monks who raised her did what they could to teach her of the dark temptations of her power, but even they could only say so much without telling her the entire harsh truth: she was a tool of his to wreak untold horrors, he did not care for her or her mother or the future, only the throne he envisioned he would occupy, the place of untold, terrible power – the throne of a tyrant. Raven was not told of her purpose, was not told of her true nature, and so she pursued knowledge, a connection. She came to trust the one she perceived to be her benevolent father and listened to his counsel. From there, it was easy for him to establish himself firmly in her mind, creating a place for himself, and ambushing me. Raven wasn't aware of Trigon when he came to me, threatened me, bound me, and asserted his own mind on me. I became his hatred, as well as hers, and they've battled for control of her will and mind through me ever since. He influenced her, she came to him, and he entered the mortal world again – destroying her home world of Azarath, as he intended when he seduced her mother and sired her. She was at least partially responsible for the destruction of Azarath and the deaths of those closest to her – who tried their best to care for her, raise her, and protect her from her father. She fled, she tried to sever her ties to him, she came here and tried to help where she could, while she could, so that she might atone for what she had done, all the while knowing that what had happened to Azarath will happen again, to this world," Hatred explained.

Robin sat back in the chair, absorbing what she told him. He had guessed that there were some awful secrets that she had never revealed to him or the other Titans, but this was like nothing he could have expected. If she had told him that through her participation, her father destroyed a world, and left it to ruin. She may have been coerced, manipulated, and misled, but still – without her, it would not have happened. It colored his opinion of her. She must have known it would have made him and the others wary of her, less trusting of her. He frowned, annoyed that he had to learn of this through Hatred, and not from Raven directly. He felt his outrage rise and fall as he took deep breaths and considered that her father had used her. He didn't know what he could blame her for exactly; she was as much of a victim of Trigon's as any who died at the end of her home world. Something must have shown in his expression, as Hatred observed his reaction and a small scowl crossed her face.

"Don't give me that look, here, now, when I'm trying to help you both," Hatred said.

"What look?" he asked.

"You well know. That distrusting, pitying look you so often give her when she tells you of her issues with Trigon. It doesn't make her willing to tell you anything other than 'go away,'" she explained.

"Sorry, I just…I wish she would have told me this herself, a long time ago. It would have helped us, so we could have been ready for her father to show himself," he said.

"May I remind you that the only reason she knows anything about your parents is because of her time in your mind? You didn't share that information with her willingly, or freely. It angered her to think that you didn't trust her or your friends to know more about you," she said.

"There are things that nobody but me should know. And other things that I can't talk about."

"Can't or won't?"

"Both."

"Not even with her?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure…yet."

"Waiting to see if you can find the nerve to tell her you do love her, and if she will say the same to you?"

"Do you know what she would say?"

"In that, I know nothing more than you do already. Help me and you will get a better idea of how she feels."

"What are you planning?"

"Building a bridge, which should strengthen your bond with her, and give you certain perks you didn't have before."

"Why?"

"She's concerned that you don't trust her…or recognize her when her demonic side shows in her powers, when she uses powers I have recently given her. This might put your mind at ease if you can connect to her through your bond."

"Right…and what else will it do?"

"It will just make you both more aware of each other, you should be able to tell certain emotions she feels, and maybe exchange a few unspoken thoughts."

"And that's all?"

"For now. In time, you could both train it to give you other benefits, if you wanted to."

"Why didn't she talk to me about this? I'd feel better if she had explained it, instead of you bringing it to me in my sleep."

"She needs a restful sleep and she would still need you to be here as you are to do it. I'm just helping her; it also helps me settle into my new role for her."

"New role?"

"Yes, to get away from painful associations, I'm expanding what I help her deal with. After this bridge is finished, I put aside what I was as Hatred, and support Raven as her Wrath."

"How is that different?"

"I get a new place in responding with a just anger, instead of acting as the vicious, disloyal attack dog I've been under Trigon's influence."

For the first time since he had walked into the room with Passion, Robin smiled at Hatred.

"I can work with that," he said.

"Good. Now, shall we? This needs to be done before it's time for her to wake up, I can only ensure she's asleep for so long."

"Now? I don't even know what I'm really doing yet. I'd like to know more before I-."

"No time. Come with me now. I'll give you this book once we're so that you might absorb it in your dreams, and from it you'll learn what you need to know as well as how to best help her out of this."

"And she'll listen to me?"

"Naturally. She defers to you regularly because you're a proven leader and trusted friend, so, follow her down, and lead her back up."

"I'll do it, but I know it's not gonna be easy or simple, so don't make it sound that way."

"As you say."

Hatred led Robin from her throne room and through the tower. Walking down the halls, Robin noted certain marked doors – Starfire's, Beast Boy's, Cyborg's, Terra's, and other Titans. She must have a room for everyone she's known, he thought. They passed by a door different from the rest and it caught Robin's attention so that he hadn't noticed his walk slow to stop before it. Hatred paused and looked back at him, looking at his eyes look over the door. An 'A' was engraved on the handle.

"What's in there?" he asked.

"Arella's room. Raven's mother," she said.

"Raven never talks about her."

"And you've been so open about your parents," she remarked dryly.

"Is she still alive?" he asked, ignoring Hatred's comment.

"Yes. Raven only contacts her when she needs to, and prefers the distant connection. Arella conjures up too many old, bad memories for Raven, and was more of a protector than a mother. The two have never been on the best terms, it's complicated."

"I didn't ask for an explanation."

"No, but you would have."

"Yeah…I guess I would."

"Shall we move on now?"

"Does she have any other family?"

"No. You, Arella, her emotions, and the rest of your team… are all she has now. You can relate to that though, can't you?"

"Basically, sure, but my mom is dead, so not totally."

"But you have a distant relationship with the man who claims you as his ward now, don't you?"

Robin said nothing and continued walking down the hall as Hatred turned and led them onward through the tower. Despite that Raven knew about his past, it still unnerved him to hear his anything related to his secrets spoken aloud. His team knew his mentor's identity now, but Robin would keep the relationship he had with the man a secret for as long as he could. Denying Hatred's words wouldn't have done any good, and he didn't want to respond to the assumption.

Slipping into the room that Raven had dedicated to Robin, they went to the door that Robin had used to enter her mind. Hatred opened the door to reveal another door, surrounded by pitch blackness.

"Unlock the door," Hatred said simply.

"With what?" Robin asked.

"Your key," she said.

"I don't have a key," he said.

"No? Check your utility belt," she suggested.

He did as she said and after a lengthy search, found not one, but three identical keys.

"What are the other two for?" he asked.

"One is yours, another is-," Hatred began.

"Mine," Passion said with a wide smile, as she popped into the room through a dark portal in the floor.

"And the third?" he asked.

Hatred and Passion shared a quick glance and then focused on him. There was a brief silence that sent a chill through him, as though they were about to shove him over the edge of some tall building. His confident manner wavered in the face of something unknown, and he could only guess as to what he was to be said. He thought he heard something on the other side of the door and looked toward it. He noticed Passion and Hatred shift their gaze to it as well.

"The third…is for your Passion," Hatred said.

"My what?" he asked.

"Where do you think this door goes? What do you think you'll find when you open it? Your mind. Your own emotions. Your own place of memories. They don't command the same urgency that Raven's emotions do since you do not have demonic powers to worry about, but they exist and function as we do," Passion explained.

He shifted nervously on his feet. He wasn't sure he wanted to deal with his own emotions like this, it wasn't something he had to worry about before. His memories would be displayed openly in his own mind, and his heart sank at the prospect. Some space for Slade, Batman, and his parents would be there. Some space for all the criminals would be there.

An apprehensive look must have crossed his face, for Passion laid her hand on his shoulder. His eyes snapped to hers and he saw the source of Raven's warmth in her eyes. Nodding curtly, he stood firmly again and gave her an appreciative smile.

"You won't have to deal with them much if you don't want to, you don't have to explore if you don't want to, I can work with your Passion to make this connection stronger - so you only need to give him a key," Passion reassured him.

"You'll work this out with him?" Robin asked.

"Yes, this and more… I expect I'll be seeing more of him if you're serious about Raven," Passion said with a smirk.

"We do this to open your mind to hers, to let us work with your emotions, to build a stronger bond. These keys let you control when you will allow a connection from her to you or you to her. In this, I have to warn you, after we get rid of her depression, should anything happen to her that alters her mind; you are to lock your mind – this door. Do not leave it unsecured. Only unlock it when she is herself again. She must do the same for you," Hatred explained.

"What if I want to help her?" he asked.

"You could, but it would cost you to. You will be vulnerable to what effects she suffers and it would sap you of strength," Hatred said.

"If something happens, I'll help her, I know she would do the same for me," he said.

That earned him a beaming smile and warm regard from Passion, but Hatred held a frown on her face. Without another word, he used his key to unlock the door and pulled it open. He looked out across a great chasm and took in what lay beyond. Robin stood on the side of a cliff just outside Raven's Titans Tower-style memory tower and across empty space from him on an opposite cliff sat Wayne Manor, next to a carnival-style circus tent. He felt himself shudder as he stepped forward to the edge of the cliff. Without thinking, letting his feet carry him, he stepped off the edge and felt stones beneath his feet. Stones flew from both cliff-faces to settle beneath his footfalls, forming a make-shift bridge for him as he crossed from her tower to his mansion, her mind to his. He never looked down. His eyes were fixated on the manor before him. Stepping off the bridge and onto the other side of the cliff, he felt something surge through him. He instinctively walked over to a door at the side of the manor and opened it. A version of himself in a purple-variant of his uniform stood before him with a smirk on his face.

"Passion, right?" Robin asked.

"Right. Got something for me?" the purple-eyed Robin asked eagerly.

With a nod, Robin handed over one of the two remaining keys. Robin's Passion took it and put it into his own utility belt and stepped back, motioning for Robin to enter. They stood in a large gallery that housed all sorts of photos, decorations, and items that related to Raven in some way or another. His own iteration of the room he had left to cross the bridge. Raven's room. The mash up of his memories of Raven combined with the décor of Wayne Manor was oddly comforting and felt perfectly, just right. His Passion watched him scan the room, anticipating his approval.

"This place was always here?" Robin asked, referring to the mansion.

"Basically, yeah. First time you've actually been in here though," Robin's Passion said, almost sadly.

"Has this room always felt…right?" Robin asked, fishing for confirmation of his own feelings.

"It has for a while, I've been trying to tell you that, but the others talk over me, especially Cleverness. He just never stops working, or talking about what we have to ignore or focus on. You only started listening to me recently."

"Sorry. I guess I'll try and listen more."

"Yeah, you better. Try and come here when you sleep some time, you should be able to do that now, I'll show you around, but I need to get you back into a restful sleep."

"Whatever you say."

The two turned and walked out the door, heading to the make-shift bridge. Robin's Passion stopped upon seeing Raven's Passion standing next to Raven's Hatred, now Wrath, on the bridge. Robin watched as the two Passions met at the center of the bridge and stood but inches from each other. From his place, he could only see the face of Raven's Passion, and she was blushing deeply with an adorable small grin on her face. Raven's Wrath stepped up between them, took one of Robin's Passion's hands and one of Raven's Passion's hands and brought them together, clasped them tightly and then stepped back. And as the two passions locked lips in a deep kiss, Robin was swept into a deep sleep, returned to his dreams.


	12. Trouble and a Table for Two

Chapter 12: Trouble and a Table for Two

"New, polished, and imbued with the confident, stubborn air so well worn by Robin, along with the dark, strong aura that wrapped itself around Raven – the bond he shared with Raven now had a bold bridge between their senses. The dream that Hatred, now Wrath created to summon Robin to her aid in the construction of such a bridge had been inspired by both Passions. This ploy was intended to create some trust between Wrath and Robin, since they would need to work together to end the depression imposed on Raven by Despair. These demonic legions employed by this depression acted in her features as a film over her eyes, blocking and diverting any inspiration or feeling from being exhibited in her gaze. So such sparks were rare, sparse things only a very well regarded friend may be attuned to see. Sparks spur her creative nuance, passionate intentions, pointed insults, and wry remarks. Robin would know what to look for, testing the waters before plunging into some realm of devotion. Raven would turn to him, for him, for her, and the future of the Titans."

Robin was slow to wake. His eyes were heavy and his head was lightly throbbing in pain. It felt as though he had slept for a day. He would have to open his eyes to check what time it was on his alarm clock, which he really didn't feel like doing. He heard soft breathing that wasn't his own. His eyelids dragged themselves up so he could see. Raven was snuggled tightly up against him, her head resting on the pillow next to his with an arm draped across his bare chest, her fingers gripping his other side. She was sleeping soundly. He couldn't tell how long she had been there, only that he hadn't heard or felt her come in and slide in his bed. Robin smiled and put his hand over hers. He was suddenly aware of her in his mind, his senses paled in comparison to the bright presence she had in his mind. A tight cordlike sense wrapped around his mind and tugged it to hers as he tried to figure out the new feeling. She stirred beside him. One of her bare legs brushed against his as she yawned.

Her eyes were still closed, but he could almost sense that she would wake up in a few seconds. He felt that sense of her being tugged in his mind toward her and then toward him. She opened her eyes and met his gaze, shyly smiling.

"Uh, good morning," Raven said awkwardly.

"It is," Robin said, squeezing her hand, "you're a nice surprise."

"So this is okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I mean I asked you before if you wanted to spend the night with me, you said no. What changed your mind?" he asked.

"I woke up a few hours before I wanted to and I felt you, in my mind. I could sense our bond had grown, you seemed happy, and I felt awful – I had to be closer to you…and let your feelings cover mine," she said.

"Feeling better since you've been here?" he asked.

"Yes, much better, thanks," she said.

"So, uh, I was thinking about taking you out for lunch or something before we try and get rid of your depression, would you be up for it?" he asked as he pressed his thumb into the back of her hand.

"Maybe, where are you taking me?" she asked.

"Not sure yet," he said.

He let go of her hand and took her arm in his grip, sliding his fingers to her shoulder and down her back. She shivered a bit at his touch, unused to someone else's hands anywhere on her bare flesh. He was surprised to find her half-naked as she was, even more surprised that she was half-naked in his bed. He held his hand above her bra clasp and massaged the spot with his fingers, eliciting a purr from her. She let her eyes close and curled up tighter against him, her fingers clutching the opposite side of his chest. He felt that sense of her in his mind, at the edges of his mental territory, her power surrounded it, as if poised to engulf the memory manor he now had only just discovered. The onslaught of power never came and he let his awareness investigate the sense of it. As he ventured to test it, he felt a pang of pain in his head, and could sense his own mental self on the bridge between his mind and hers.

Against him, Raven nestled herself into the sheets and pillow, and softly gasped upon finding his mind seeking hers through their bond for the first time. Her mental self met his on the bond bridge and wrapped him in a welcoming warm embrace. His confidence melded with her uncertainty and swept through her. She smiled, opening her eyes to meet his gaze. She leaned over and brushed her lips softly on his shoulder at the base of his neck, catching his flesh in between her lips. He sunk his fingers into her back and held her in tightly against him. Their physical actions spread to the meeting point of their minds, a wave of energy, as fluid as ocean water, swept up from below the bridge and splashed over them. It soothed and energized the pair. In the moment, he found that he was acutely aware of both interactions with Raven, in two places at once with her. The sudden discovery snapped him away from both and he let go of her, shaking his head to call his mind back to himself. She gazed at him with a look of wonder and adoration.

"Wh-what was that?" he asked, shaken.

"Meditation, I think. Most of the feelings I had are similar to the ones I get when I meditate, I know you felt them too, and you were with me," she said, speaking softly, running her hand along his chest.

"It was great, I feel like I could tackle the city's crime in a day," he said with a laugh.

"I bet you would," she laughed.

"I'd rather just tackle you though," he smirked.

"Do you…really? Want to, I mean?" she asked awkwardly.

"Uh, no-I mean, not-I mean I feel like I could, and I'd want to, but uh-only if you're ready," he stammered.

"Umm…I should really wait until I'm feeling more like myself. Though it's hard to say no," she said.

"I understand. Wait, so you've been thinking about it?" he asked.

Raven's eyes widened as she realized what she had just revealed and she bit her lip as her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. His clumsy comment had caught her off-guard and she wasn't very awake yet either, so she let that slip. She had been thinking of it, she had been holding her thoughts and feelings on that matter at bay. Yet as she was curled up against him, she had somewhat yielded to them. Her urge to plant a dozen kisses across his smooth, broad shoulders was at the forefront of her mind. She had stopped herself from tangling her pale slender legs in his strong sprinter's legs. Even her fingers had betrayed her, moving over his toned chest with a lack of purpose or aim but to feel him, touch him.

"Maybe," she teased, playing for time to gather her thoughts.

"And?" he asked.

"And I don't trust myself right now, not with what's going on in my mind. I want to get rid of my depression first," she explained.

"Yeah, makes sense. I won't push you into it," he said.

"I know," she said, "You…you've been good to me, putting up with everything, I feel selfish holding back feelings I could be sharing with you, not being more open and…affectionate."

She fell silent and looked down between them. She felt guilty for making him go through things he didn't fully understand in addition to the typical relationship trials. She sighed and shifted in the bed beside him.

Without warning her, Robin put his arms around Raven and lifted her up on top of him, her legs straddling his waist. He kept his hands on her hips and looked up at her. Shame he always covered those blue eyes of his, they were gorgeous, she thought as she gazed down at him.

"I don't think you're selfish, Rae, I don't regret getting into this relationship with you, and I've been happy getting to know you like this. You know I'd say if I didn't like where this was going. I know you're just going through a lot right now and it's good to see you getting better," Robin said, smiling up at her.

"You are so-," Raven started.

She paused when she felt one of his fingers slip beneath the lining of her panties at her hip. She glanced down at her waist to see what he was doing. He looked down and quickly withdrew his finger, glancing back at her, his face now red in embarrassment; it had been an absent-minded motion, and he steeled himself for her reaction. To his surprise, her face reddened and a small giggle escaped her lips.

"So amazing," she said, finishing her thought.

Bending down, she wrapped her hands around his neck and gave him a fluttery kiss on the lips. He kissed her back. His hands slid around her waist and supported her ass as he sat up, his lips locked with hers. She felt his soft fingers on her smooth cheeks, wandering, caressing. He kissed her and kissed her. She purred and wrapped her legs around his back. In a flash, they were both seeing their mental selves on the bridge between minds, entrapped in a tight, loving embrace, as they kept kissing. Robin gently lowered her onto her back and moved his hands along her thighs, his lips shifting from hers to her neck. Raven tilted her head back and purred, exploring his back with her slim fingers, digging into his skin. Somehow one of his hands slid up from her thigh to cup her breast through her bra. She moaned and drove nails into his back, alerting him to his motions. He backed off and looked down into her sweet violet eyes.

"We should do something, but all I want to do is keep you here and kiss you," Robin said.

Nodding reluctantly, she removed her hands from his body and slid out from underneath him. He moved so she could get out of the bed and stand, he watched her hips as she went over to his dresser and grabbed their journal and a pair of pens, then returned to him. Handing him a pen, she opened their journal and they wrote together. Robin doodled some, Raven wrote a few lines of a poem across the doodle. And then they wrote a poem together:

"Minds of manor and tower,

There's so much to discover.

Our wings lift us to new heights,

We'll soar on through the nights.

As two, in a loving flock,

You should ride my - * scratched out word* sea to dock,

To gentle shores from the waves crest,

Just for me to hold your *scratched out word* mind that's messed.

There's nothing much between me and you,

That won't be explored through and through.

Kiss me now so I'll kiss, and show, your heart,

We will be forever one, only to break if torn apart."

Raven made Robin cross out a certain word, and Robin made Raven cross out the other word. Their minds were still on the earlier conversation they had.

After writing for some time, they parted and went their separate ways to get ready for the rest of the day. Once showered and dressed, they met in the living room and started looking at places where they could go for lunch. Raven wanted to go to a café, but Robin was in the mood for some kind of bar and grill, so they compromised on a place that had a reputation for being good for both. Prior to leaving, Robin checked in with Alfred and Cyborg to see how things were going in Gotham. Raven had to drag him away from the call and get him on his motorcycle. Wrapping her arms tightly around him on the back, they took off for the café and grill.

Taking a swift ride in the city, the R-cycle tore through traffic and pulled up in front of the restaurant. The sun beat down on them from its place overhead with no clouds to hinder its glare, a bright, golden ball in a blue sea of atmosphere. Rays of light struck the glass of shops and restaurants along the street. Robin helped Raven off his bike and they started for the door to the café and grill when a siren sounded, breaking the calm of the afternoon. Raven glanced down as her red gem on her cloak's clasp started to blink. Robin checked his communicator the instant it buzzed.

"Trouble," he said gravely.

She nodded and rushed after him as he took off toward the sounding siren. Together, they dashed across two blocks and turned the corner before they found the source of the siren. A bank's doors had been blasted off and four armed gunmen stood their ground behind black sedans in a battle with police who sat on the opposite curb from the bank.

Robin and Raven exchanged a glance to one another and sprang into the fray. She gathered their weapons with her powers, plucking them from their hands with her black telekinetic magic, and set them down in a pile behind the cops, while Robin leapt up over the sedans they hid behind. He kicked and slammed his fists into the resisting thugs and saw that they were restrained or subdued. Raven glided across the road to hover next to him, looking from one battered thug to the next.

"This can't be all of them," she said quietly to Robin.

"Yeah, I bet there's more here, and they're not like these guys," he said, as he took out his bo-staff and started for the door to the bank, Raven caught him by the shoulder.

"Don't. It's what he wants," she said.

"And who is 'he'?" he asked.

"Gizmo," she said, indicating the near-invisible tripwire device planted discreetly at the base of the doorway, "I wonder why Mammoth isn't with him, I don't sense him here."

"Maybe he wasn't expecting us, so he didn't need him," he said.

Robin walked over and carefully inspected the tripwire as the police moved up and started taking suspects away. The tripwire was set up to be very strong, and it connected to something inside the bank. It didn't appear to have anything indicating an explosive device. If that was the case, then it could mean that Gizmo wanted to capture someone, and the unknown connection might be a cage, or case. For what reason? Robin asked himself. He looked back at Raven, who was keeping the police from going in to the bank. She caught his eye and shrugged, she was as unsure as he was. Then she turned her eyes toward the street and her expression changed from one of confusion to recognition and then understanding as a red blur sped toward the bank, weaving in and out of traffic. Kid Flash. Which meant that Jynx wasn't far behind him, if she wasn't already there. Kid Flash stopped in front of Raven and reached for her hand, took it in his, and kissed the back of her hand. Robin flinched and stood up straight and frowned before walking over to greet Kid Flash.

"Raven, babe, you look better every time I see ya," Kid Flash smirked.

"Thanks Wally…better wipe that look off your face before Jynx does it for you, or I do," Raven cautioned.

"You dark types really stick together huh?" he asked.

"Hey Wally," Robin said, offering his hand to shake.

Kid Flash beamed at Robin and swept him into a tight embrace, to Robin's discomfort, and Raven's amusement.

"Good to see ya man, we need to catch up," Kid Flash said.

"Nice to see you too. Mind telling me what this is about?" Robin asked, pointing to the bank.

Kid Flash let go of Robin and frowned at him.

"Gizmo and Mammoth are trying to get Jynx to team up with them again, they think they can do that by stopping me. I told em good luck, cuz it isn't happening, and it won't!" Kid Flash said.

"So where is Jynx?" Robin asked.

"She's coming from Titans East; she won't get in until later tonight. Think we could crash at your place if you have a room?" Kid Flash asked.

"Help us get Gizmo and Mammoth under control and you can have your pick of the rooms, it's just me and Raven handling the city, the rest of the team is off on a mission," Robin said.

"Awesome! Sounds like a night to party," Kid Flash said, winking at Raven.

"We'll see," Robin said after catching a disapproving look from Raven.

"You guys can go, I got this, I'll see ya later tonight with Jynx," Kid Flash said.

"You sure? We should attack this as a team, I don't know if you going about this alone is a good idea," Robin said.

"Nah, you'll slow me down, If I need help, I'll bug you, just go and do what you were doing, " Kid Flash insisted.

"Mind the tripwire," Raven said, starting off toward the café.

Robin nodded to Kid Flash and followed Raven back to the café and grill. He expertly maneuvered around her and opened the door for her before she could reach out and pull it open herself. Once inside they stopped short. The place was practically deserted; apparently the commotion of gunfire and sirens a few blocks away had scared away the customers. A few members of the kitchen staff and waiters jumped upon seeing Robin and Raven standing at the door, waiting to be seated. It was rare for any of the Titans to go to restaurant that didn't serve fast food, tofu, or pizza.

"Table for five?" a young waiter asked with hopeful eyes.

"Two," Robin said, with a firm expression and warm smile.

"Oh, sure, right this way," the waiter said anxiously as he grabbed a pair of menus.

Following the waiter, past several tables and booths, Robin took Raven's hand and led her along. The rest of the staff watched and one of the girls turned to another and pointed to the pair and whispered something. Raven frowned as she caught the two girls out of the corner of her eye pointing and talking. She never liked the gossip that they got as a team, tabloids in the city had caused a few issues among them, like when they posted a story about Robin and Starfire's relationship, suggesting that he had actually been the one to ask Kitten out, or when they posted a piece speculating as to when Beast Boy would ask her out, and when they wondered if Cyborg had a fling with Bumblebee. Dating Robin, she knew they would end up in one of those stories. It didn't discourage her though; people would say what they wished to about whatever they wanted. She was only concerned about how it would affect the team if the story got out before she and Robin told them that they were dating.

The waiter took them to a booth in a more closed off section of the restaurant. Sitting down across from each other, Robin let her hand go, and picked up a menu that the waiter had laid out in front of them. Raven picked up a menu and opened it, looking for something she might be in the mood for.

"So, where are the other Teen Titans?" the waiter asked.

"Busy with their own stuff," Robin said.

"Oh yeah? Uh, what would you like to drink?" the waiter asked.

"Two glasses of water, and a pot of herbal tea – with two cups, please, thanks," Robin said.

Raven's eyes peeked at him from over the top of her menu for an instant, and then went back to scanning the list of entrees.

"Sure thing. I'll get those and give you two time to look over the menu," the waiter said, before walking off, leaving them alone.

Once the waiter was out of sight and earshot, Robin reached over and pulled the top of her menu down enough to see her face. Her eyes shot to his and she smiled curiously.

"You okay? Seems like you're getting ready to punch somebody, is it cuz of Wally?" Robin asked.

"Partially," Raven replied.

"Partially? What else could it be? Me?" he asked.

"No. It's…I just feel awkward, being out on a date with you, people will talk," she said.

"They might. We'll deal with it if it happens," he said.

"You're fine telling the others?" she asked.

"Yeah, when they get back, sure. Aren't you?"

She hesitated and set her menu down, looking from him to her lap, trying to find her emotions, and her words.

"I don't want our relationship subject to the scrutiny of the entire city or our friends, just for us to be together," she said.

"We can't control being seen or not being seen without hiding somehow, is that what you want?" he asked.

"No. I guess not," she said with a frown.

"Hey, you're dealing with a lot right now, I'm helping you as best I can, so let me worry about what anyone else is doing or saying. Just focus on feeling better, take it easy."

"Yeah, I should."

"Think you can relax now?"

"Maybe. Not exactly jumping up and down to have to deal with Wally later."

"If he goes too far, I'll chain him to a flagpole."

"Promise?" she asked with a giggle.

"We'll see," he chuckled.

"He might like that, though," she mused.

"What do you mean?"

"People talk."

"And what do they say?"

"In short, he may have a thing for you."

"What?! No way. He flirts with girls; I've never seen him flirt with a guy, let alone me."

"All his flirting could just be a smoke screen. Ever think of that?"

"Maybe. But he's with Jynx."

"Doesn't kill off his interest in other people."

"I guess not, but I still doubt he likes me."

"I don't see why anyone wouldn't like you, but then…I'm a little biased."

"Yeah, I see that," he smirked.

Carrying a tray, the waiter returned to their table and set the teapot, cups and drinks in front of them. Raven retreated behind her menu once more, acting as though she was making a last minute change to what she would order. The waiter's eyes were fixated on her, not in anticipation of her order, just in awe, star-struck, and Robin caught on to that pretty quickly.

"I think she's still deciding," Robin said to draw the waiter's attention.

"What? Oh-right, yeah. Sorry. It's just- can't believe she's her, Raven. And she's here," the waiter stammered.

"Nobody else like her," Robin said with a smile.

Raven's eyes peeked over the menu at Robin once more; a small spark flashed in one of them briefly, and then vanished. Setting down the menu, Raven looked at the waiter and managed a small smile.

"He's pretty unique, too," Raven said.

"Well, yeah, right, you're both awesome! And it's crazy that you're both here, but you – you saved my dad's life one time. Cinderblock picked up this truck threw it at the door to a jewelry shop where my dad was working, he was just locking up, and you grabbed the truck out of the air like, a foot from my dad's head, with your power and threw it back at Cinderblock. So I just- I wanted to say thank you, so much, for saving my dad's life!" the waiter gushed.

"It's what we do," Robin said proudly and Raven nodded in agreement.

"Is this like, a special occasion for you two? I don't mean to bother you," the waiter said.

"Not really. I'm trying to cheer her up, thought getting taking her to get a bite to eat might help," Robin said.

"Anything you want off the menu, name it, and it's yours – on the house," the waiter said to Raven.

"Oh, no, that's really not-," Raven started.

"Please? It's the least I can do," the waiter said.

"Alright," she surrendered.

She ordered a specialty salad and a sundae for herself, while Robin ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with fries. Once the waiter had their orders down and took their menus, he all but ran away from them to get things ready. Robin poured a cup of tea for her and then himself. She sipped her tea and watched him take a sip of his, and then he downed the whole cup and poured another. She smiled quietly to herself, she had offered him some before, but he hadn't taken her up on that despite her praise for her favorite drink.

Their conversation continued, moving away from Kid Flash and Jynx to their evening plans, then to a few casual questions. Raven brought up a book she thought he might like and he told her of a cd he had listened to while training that he wanted her to check out for herself. It struck her that she had been smiling for most of their conversation and felt Happiness sitting next to Hunger, flinging her small nuggets of energy, making her a little peppier. She felt Despair rattle somewhere in her mind, which sent shivers along her back and neck. Wrath hit the cage with a wave of power and quieted Despair, Cleverness was going over something in her library and Raven didn't have to try and sense where her Passion was, for she had been sitting on the bond bridge with Robin's Passion all day.

The waiter returned with their food and they ate quickly, saying little. As Raven finished her salad, the waited brought her the sundae she ordered – with two straws.

She looked from the waiter to Robin uneasily.

"I don't mean to bug you, it's none of my business, but you two are on a date… aren't you?" the waiter asked anxiously.

Robin looked from the waiter to Raven. She nervously bit her lip and nodded ever so slightly to him. He turned his attention back to the waiter.

"Don't spread it around, but yeah, we started dating, haven't told our friends yet," Robin said.

"Oh, I won't, it's just- couldn't help noticing. If you need a quiet place to go out to, come back again, I'll make sure you're not bothered," the waiter said with a smile.

"That's cool, thanks," Robin said.

"No problem! Hope everything was good. Need anything else?" the waiter asked.

"I think we're okay," Robin said, turning to Raven," Raven?"

"The food was fantastic. What's your name?" Raven asked.

"Cory," the waiter said.

"Say hi to your dad for me, Cory, and thanks for all of this," she said.

"I will! And don't mention it, anything for you guys!" Cory said.

When the waiter walked away, Raven put the sundae between her and Robin and slid the straws into the glass, tilting one toward Robin. They drank their dessert together, careless of who might see them. Once they finished, they left the restaurant to head home, where they would try and get rid of Raven's depression for good.


	13. Torment Tournament

Chapter 13: Torment Tournament

"Her tower and his manor held secrets they wouldn't dare face themselves. Raven had done what she could to suppress her father, but even in death, he held some measure of influence in her mind. Robin held the shadow of his parents' deaths deep within his head, and every so often it would surface, he could never truly relax. Driven and tested in ways they could never have imagined, they found an ally in the mind of the other. Bonded by power and time as friends, they could force their inner tormentors to face the combined strength of the other's emotions. An arena too delicate and complex to fully comprehend would play host to the last moments of Raven's father and the murder of Robin's parents. In memoriam of Trigon's victims and the Flying Graysons."

Once, when she was a little girl, Raven was told never to share her mind, never to bond with anyone too strongly, or they will be vulnerable to Trigon's power and influence. She had listened and did her best not to use her connection to Robin too often; it was something she would do in dire circumstances. Today, she would be relying on the power of that connection to purge her depression from her mind. Strange how things change.

After they got back from lunch, Raven went to gather things they would need to for what they were about to do for her mind. Materials for the ritual, a book describing the process, and a scroll with an incantation that would shield their minds from any outside interference – just a precaution, she didn't expect anyone would know enough to try and mess with them during the ritual. As she stood looking around her room for anything she might have forgotten, she felt Despair draw from her powers, preparing to submerge her mind into the doom-waters of unrelenting disorder and unleash another force of Trigon's minions upon her. Wrath stepped in and redirected the power that Despair was drawing upon and focused it against Despair, blocking the chance of anything troubling her from spawning.

They couldn't start getting rid of this any sooner, Raven thought as she put her hand to her head and sighed heavily. She trudged over to her bed and slumped down on it with a tiny groan. Sink, she thought, sink and sleep for the rest of the afternoon. It was counter to what she should do and she knew she only felt it because of what Despair was doing. Crossing her legs, she hovered over the bed and let her eyelids slide down over her eyes. Her mantra came to her lips with ease, and she dipped into her meditation. Collecting her emotions, she examined their connections with Robin's, finding a hint of him in each one, a set of long threads she could follow from every feeling to find his own, subtly imprinted in a space she could access. She didn't know what her emotions had planned; only that Robin knew what to do once this started. What will he do? Why doesn't it worry me? Questions pooled in her awareness the more she considered what was to come.

A nagging tone pulled her from her thoughts, and she grabbed her communicator instinctively. Flipping it open, she was greeted by Cyborg.

"Hey Rae, everything okay?" Cyborg asked.

"Of course. Why are you asking?" Raven asked.

"Cuz I called Robin before you and he didn't answer," Cyborg said.

"He's in the gym, getting a workout in before it gets too late in the day, probably has his music on or something," Raven said.

"Huh, he usually works out in the morning, but okay, just callin' to say 'hey' and uh, we can't wait to get home, it's crazy here," Cyborg said.

"Everyone okay?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, we're good, just tired – it's like we're lookin for damn ghosts here, the second something happens, we get there and it's all over, like there's no way to catch these guys in the act," Cyborg said.

"Need my help? I could come there and-," she started.

"Nah, it's cool, you and Robin probably have your hands full there with just two of you. How's that going by the way, he's not being an ass to you, is he? Cuz if he is, I'll set em straight."

"No, he's been great. Almost like he and I are less stressed without you and Beast Boy threatening to kill each other every other day, who knew?" Raven asked dryly.

"Yeah," he chuckled, "we've had some trouble with that here too."

"I'm shocked," she added dryly.

"Right? Oh yeah, BB and Star say hi, Star says she misses both of you, BB says he wants you to call him later."

"Tell Starfire I miss her too. And what does Beast Boy want?"

"I don't know, just told me to tell you to call him later."

"I'll think about it."

"Gotta go, Batman needs us to check out some bank job, see ya Rae."

"Bye Cyborg."

She hung up and set her communicator down on her bed. Gathering her things, she got off her bed and left her room. She wondered what Beast Boy wanted as she walked to Robin's room. Maybe he was going to try and ask her out again. She'd love to see him try with Robin standing right beside them. It would be all too priceless to watch Robin step in for her, to claim her as his – it smote any negative feelings that lingered in her mind. She had been thinking of the moment after her depression left her head, of what she would feel, what she could be free to do, who she planned to turn to in her new sense of reality. She trusted her emotions; they were true to her in nearly every event in her life. So she trusted in what Passion had made her consider and feel following her Passion meeting Robin's Passion. Thoughts of Robin took on new forms in her mind; her impressions of him were now tinged with inspiration, her memories of him slated in adoration, and her visions of him were coated lightly in lust. She filed the idea away for later, bidding Passion to bring it forward when the time was right.

Out of habit, Raven knocked at Robin's door, feeling stupid when she remembered that he was in the gym. She opened his door and walked over next to his bed, laying out the materials for the ritual and spell. In the center of a circle of dark stones she placed her mediation mirror. Along the circle, she marked each stone with a small red gem. From the mirror to the top of the circle, she set down a black tree branch. Sitting at one edge of the circle, she crossed her legs, closed her eyes, and hovered just off the floor. As she mediated, the mirror floated into the air over the circle and slowly spun. The glass was pitch-black, nothing reflected in the mirror. The gems glowed and sunk into the stones. Lifting off the ground one by one, the stones circled the mirror. She took a few hairs she had gotten from Robin's head and a few she had cut from her own and set them into a powder in a stone cup, which she placed underneath the floating mirror.

Focused on her preparations, she didn't notice Robin enter the room. He leaned against the door after closing it behind him and watched as she used her dark power to turn the mirror on the stone cup. The contents were gradually siphoned into the mirror. As the last bit disappeared into the mirror, a pulse of dark power was released, causing the room to vibrate. The stones and the mirror fell softly to the floor as Raven opened her eyes. She got up and stood, looking over everything, then spun around suddenly.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked.

"Maybe a minute," he said.

"Might have said something."

"I figured you knew I was here."

"No, I was focused on the spell, I didn't sense you until I finished."

"Are you ready?"

"Yes, everything is set up."

"Cool, I'll shower and get some new clothes and join you."

"It would be better if you didn't and do it when we're done. What we do during this ritual could make you sweat."

"Really?"

"It's not easy to project my soul-self from my body, it's harder to project my mind to one place and even harder to bring yours there too. It all takes its toll in different ways, nothing severe though."

"Alright. You're sure this is gonna work?"

"It had better, for my sake. Do you know what you have to do?"

"Yeah, I need to get you to feel some emotions by feeling them myself."

"Which emotions?"

"I can't tell you."

She frowned and looked back to her meditation mirror. She had never done this ritual before now and wasn't sure what to expect from it, and she couldn't know what she should expect from Robin forcing his emotions on hers. There would be nothing she could really do to prepare for it, she would have her emotional guard down, and that may be the point. It still made her nervous. He would have some degree of control over her mind without knowing every piece of it as she did. He stepped away from the wall and placed his hands on her shoulders, getting her to face him.

"Trust me?" he asked.

"I do," she said, "it's just…I've only ever had control over my mind, with my father influencing it, and you don't know it as well."

"I'll be careful, don't worry," he said.

Nodding and without a word, she led him to the circle of stones and had him sit across from her. She took a lighter and lit the black branch, placing it on top of the mirror. The branch slowly burned away and the ashes flew to the mirror, coating the reflective surface. Once the branch had been consumed in fire and smoke, the stones began to move and circle them, lifting slowly into the air. A plume of smoke released from the mirror. Raven took Robin's hands in hers.

"Don't let go," she told him.

"I won't," he replied.

When she closed her eyes, he tensed, waiting for what might follow. Her eyes were white with her power when she opened them again and his awareness of himself – sights, sounds, smells, the firm grip of his hands clasped with hers – fell away. Time and space eluded him and he lost track of his bearings until the mansion he had seen once before in his mind came into view. He knew then that she was standing outside her own tower. The doors to the manor opened and a Robin in a yellow uniform with glasses stepped out, beckoning to him.

"Cleverness?" Robin asked.

"Very good," Robin's Cleverness confirmed, "come this way, I have who you'll need waiting in the lounge."

Entering the manor, Robin followed his Cleverness from the door through a long hall. Portraits of himself, along with his parents, Batman, Alfred, his friends, and those he had once saved covered the walls. Everything from the lights, the ceiling, walls, to the floor, reminded him of Wayne Manor and Titans Tower simultaneously. A Robin in an orange uniform sat on a stool next to a bar in the open hall, eating a sandwich. He waved as Robin and Robin's Cleverness walked by, Hunger, Robin guessed. Chandeliers overhead lit their way as they turned down a narrow corridor that led to a set of sliding doors.

The doors slid open and Robin was looking at a near-carbon copy of the Titans living room, with a few modifications that suited Robin, some weights, a stereo, an armchair in front of the computer/TV screen/window. Three other Robins sat on the couch, watching one of Robin's favorite movies. The air felt thick, the scent of pizza hung under his nose. Once Robin descended the steps and reached the back of the couch with Cleverness, the three on the ouch turned their heads to look at him.

"I've taken the liberty of informing these three what you shall require of them, and I'm sure you know them, but for the sake of introductions, these are three of your emotions: Passion, Hatred, and Fear," Cleverness said.

Robin's Hatred wore an obsidian uniform, with a red mask, and simply nodded to Robin in greetings. His Passion had a deep-blue uniform and a violet mask, and he grinned at Robin when their gazes met. The odd one of the trio, Fear, sat in a gray uniform, hugging his legs to his chest and staring out the window with a look of dread.

"Of them, only Fear has not met Raven's iteration of your emotion, Despair, and I believe this is appropriate to the situation. I've spoken with Raven's Cleverness. Based on what we discussed, you will meet Raven on the bridge between your minds, she will bring you into her tower so the door to your mind stays open, then you will talk to Raven to keep her occupied in one room as these emotions meet each other in another room of the tower – prepared for this situation. To remind you, your job is to get her to summon these emotions to her, in order, by inspiring that emotion in her, and you will summon yours to match hers. They will not come; they will grapple with each other instead. Under no circumstance do you tell her what you're trying to do, but you must convince her and yourself that you feel every emotion, and it will inspire hers, no lies, no half-truths. Make her want you, make her angry, then get her to feel as awful as you can, and feel it yourself," Robin's Cleverness explained.

"I think I understand, I just wish I didn't have to make her feel worse," Robin said.

"It is only temporary, she will forgive you, her Cleverness and I will make sure she knows that you only did what you had to do," Robin's Cleverness said.

"Alright. So, let's go," Robin said.

"It's about time," Robin's Hatred growled as he got up, "I've had enough of just sitting around here."

"We'll be after you, go meet Raven," Robin's Passion said, "You want to."

As he left the lounge, Robin made note of several doors he passed, as they had his friend's names etched on them, one of which was Raven's. He would check those out when he got another chance to come back here, he thought, continuing out into the hall and making for the door. Hunger had finished his sandwich and moved on to a steak. When Hunger took a bite, Robin could taste the seasoned sirloin and it sent a chill up his spine. There was no mask to conceal what he felt here, and he couldn't shy away from those emotions. Each demanded to be addressed or confronted in some small way.

He left the mansion and walked to the bridge, where Raven stood waiting for him. She offered him a small smile and he took her hand in his when he reached her. Together, they crossed the bridge to her tower, entered, and left the door open. She led him from his room out into the hall, and up a spiral staircase. They went up a few floors and went down a short corridor, passing several hung scrolls and a mural of the team, which Raven had to pull him away from. Opening a large, ornate door at the end of the hall, Raven walked Robin inside, and shut the door behind them.

Standing at the door, Robin glanced around the small room. Stone walls were adorned with mounted bookshelves and tapestries. In the center of the room was a dark red couch in front of a blazing fireplace, the only source of light that only just illuminated their surroundings. Raven sat on the couch, drawing her legs up and curling them beneath her. Robin joined her, crossing his leg over his knee and putting his arms behind his head.

Without warning or asking him, she used her powers and peeled his mask from his eyes and dropped it in his lap. Her eyes sought his.

"Well, umm, here we are," Raven said awkwardly.

"Yeah…You worried?" Robin asked.

"If I said 'a little' I think I'd laugh at myself," Raven said.

"I'm here, that has to make you feel a little better, right?" he asked.

"You have no idea," she said with a tiny smile.

"No, I do," he said with a smirk.

He swept her up in his arms and locked his lips to hers. She slid over him and straddled his waist, wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed him. He held her hips, his fingers toyed with her belt. She caught his upper lip in her mouth and left a lingering kiss, then she tore away to speak softly in his ear.

"First kiss in our minds, how does it feel to you?" she asked.

"Weird, but in a good way, it's more…real," he said.

"I wish our first kiss had felt as nice, but it can't compare to this now," she said.

"Our first kiss was nice, no one has called me by my name like that in a long time," he said.

"That…wasn't the first kiss I was talking about."

She pulled away from his ear and leaned back, to see him in full view. She wasn't sure how to tell him, if he had no memory of it, it wouldn't be easy.

"Oh…yeah, I should have handled that one better, I shouldn't have done it while I was drunk, I'm really sorry," he said.

"You…remember?" she asked in disbelief.

"No, Passion told me about it, I just wasn't sure how to talk to you about it, so I didn't bring it up," he said.

"Well, I don't blame you…though I tried to. You were drunk, you didn't know what you were doing," she said.

"Part of me did, right?"

"Maybe, but I still can't blame you. It…that part of you probably has something to do with what's happening between us now, and I like it."

"I really wish you would have told me about it the next day."

"Sure," she said with a small laugh, "because that wouldn't have been awful. Starfire was already angry at you, I didn't want to be in the middle of that, you wouldn't either."

"I guess, it's just that…we could have been closer sooner."

"True…Is it my turn to apologize?"

"No, just…let me do something," he said with a smirk.

He reached for the clasp on her cloak and undid it, dropping it beside them, then explored her back with his fingers, until he found the concealed zipper on her leotard, he took it in his fingers and pulled it straight down.

Her eyes lit up and she smirked.

"Robin?" she asked.

"Shhh, no talking, get out of your uniform," he said playfully.

Raven climbed off him and stood before the fireplace, then untied her belt, and slid her leotard off with her boots. Only in her bra and panties, she moved to rejoin him on the couch, but he stopped her as he got up.

"Lay on the couch, on your chest," he said.

She did as he said and stretched out on her chest. He leaned over her and gently traced her tattoo with his finger as he admired it. The dark raven was intricate, yet simple, and was perfectly placed just above her bra hook.

"Do you like it?" she asked.

"It's cool. I might get one of my own," he replied.

"Can I go with you when you do?"

"I'd be mad if you didn't."

He ran his hands down the length of her back and then up again, gently massaging her. She breathed in deeply and moaned softly through closed lips. She shut her eyes as he kneaded her back. He moved his hands down to her ass and thighs, then up again, and back down. He knelt down on the floor beside the couch and kissed her at the nape of her neck. He was doing all he could to provoke her Passion. He felt his own trying to get through to hers, kissing, hugging, whispering sweetly, showing her images of the two of them together. She was responding slowly, but it was working. He might have to go further than he was willing to at that point to make her melt in his arms.

Turning her over, he ran his hands along her legs, passed her hips, to her stomach. Her eyes were locked on his when they opened. He couldn't help it, her gaze was tempting, powerful, and he dared. Massaging her sides, he then moved his hands over her chest, cupping her breasts through her bra. He got off the floor and climbed on top of her, planting kisses on her stomach, then her neck, and finally seized her lips in his.

Elsewhere, Raven's Passion coupled with Robin's Passion, falling into his arms and kissing him deeply. Raven's Cleverness appeared from a hidden door in the wall and used Raven's power to put the two Passions in a magical trance, locked in place, freezing the emotions. A black and blue bolt of power struck the frozen pair and a small gem materialized from the spot where the bolt struck, it flew out and Cleverness caught it, placing it in a small box she had brought with her. There was room enough for two more gems.

Robin broke away from Raven and sat up, she rose with him. They looked at each other as though they had just realized they had forgotten something. She looked down at herself and turned red in embarrassment, she got up and put her things back on. Robin passed Raven her cloak and heard his Cleverness in his ear, though he couldn't see him, say, "Passion is done. Wrath is next, then Despair."

Once dressed, Raven sat back down next to Robin awkwardly.

"Why did you stop?" she asked.

"Why did you stop?" he countered.

"I don't know, I…I stopped feeling like I wanted to keep going," she said.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, I felt that too," he said.

"Must have something to do with the ritual, it should correct itself when this is over," she guessed.

"It 'should'?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, it's not like I've done this before."

"That's good, now maybe I lost an emotion thanks to you."

His annoyance was real, but he was exaggerating it to provoke her anger. Deliberate cruelty didn't come easily to him, and he didn't want to push it, but he had no choice.

"Not like you use them much anyway," she said.

"Oh, and you do?" he countered.

"No, but I have a reason not to, you don't."

"Maybe you guys just don't get to me."

"Seriously? Are you trying to say what we do or say doesn't matter?"

"No, just saying you guys can't like, really get to me, you know? It's not enough."

He had felt like the team paid more attention to what he did than to him, and he helped them more than they helped him out with his issues. It was awful to play it up, but he knew if he made it sound like she didn't do enough on his behalf, it would enrage her. Because she had.

"Not enough? I do what you don't have time to, I check in on you during your late nights, I have a bond with you, we talk all the time, I'm practically your girlfriend, how exactly do I not do enough?"

"I just- you know, don't see it happen as much, it's just how I see it."

"That is one of the dumbest things you've ever said to me. No, it's one of the dumbest things I've heard, it's worse than when Beast Boy tries to connect the dots for a case, why are you being so dense?" she asked, her voice rising.

"Oh, I'm dense?! How could you not pick up on the fact that he's had a crush on you for years, Miss Empathic Know it All?" he asked, matching her tone.

"I knew, I just ignored it."

"And how's that working out?"

"Better than how you fucking led Starfire on for months!"

She knew just where to poke a sharp stick and he was doing his best to stay focused on getting her to explode, but that one had caught him off guard.

"I did not lead her on, neither of us knew if it would work out or not."

"I knew."

"Yeah, and as usual, you didn't say anything, because you don't care unless it stops you from meditating or reading your shitty books!"

That did it.

In another room of Raven's tower, Raven's Wrath threw a fireball at Robin's Hatred, who dodged it handily and threw a bird-a-rang at her, which she incinerated in mid-air. A panel in the wall slid up and Raven's Cleverness stepped into the room, putting Raven's Wrath and Robin's Hatred into the same trance, freezing them in place, mid-battle. Another bolt of power struck them and created another gem that bounced once, twice, and over to Cleverness. She put the gem in the box and slipped away.

As if they had said nothing awful to each other, Raven scooted closer to Robin and rested her head on his shoulder. He forgot why he had yelled at her, why she had been yelling at him.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what got into me," Robin said.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too…I'm not mad anymore though, but I think I should be," Raven said.

The voice of Robin's Cleverness sprang to his hear from the air, "Passion and Hatred are done. Despair remains."

He frowned and looked down on Raven's head, nestled on his shoulder. It wouldn't take as much effort to get her to feel sad, he guessed, but it would be the worst to put her through. It wouldn't be for long though. Putting his arm around her, he held her tightly to his side. He had to do this. Maybe he could learn something as well.

"Raven?" Robin asked.

"Hmm?" Raven asked.

"What happened to Azarath?" he asked.

"I told you, my father used me to destroy it," she said, "why are you asking?"

"I just don't know much about it."

"Why would you want to?"

"It's something I don't know about you."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"What if I told you about my parents…and Batman?"

She shifted against his side slid her arms around him. It was something she had been curious about, something she knew that always bothered him. If she knew more, she could help him, he could talk to her about it, and he wouldn't have to keep it to himself. She could let someone else know what she had done, and he was always willing to listen or help her. It might hurt, but it could help.

"Okay... I'll tell you," she managed to say.

How Raven managed to get through the whole story was beyond her, she had to pause twice to wipe tears from her eyes. Robin had listened and comforted her as best as he could, though he had some trouble finding how to respond to some of the things she told him. What were the consoling words for someone who had been used to summon doom upon a world? He didn't know them. Her story had gotten to him, so he was already feeling awful, but he still told her about how he felt when his parents died, how Batman took him in, told him not to seek revenge, and trained him. Still, Batman had not been a father to him, as clearly, Trigon had not been a father to Raven. While she had been trained to fight against her father, he had been trained to fight against criminals, neither of them were technically raised, and were deprived of any real connection to family.

In their mutual moment of torment, they were unable to hear the swelling of the storm just outside the tower. The chasm between their minds over which the bridge spanned held water between cliffs. A river raged as clouds formed high above his manor and her tower. Twin lightning bolts chained into one branching arc within the deep gray mounds of cloud and tore the fabric of the perpetual night sky. Thunder rose and deafened thoughts existing outside the memory holdings. A thick fog swept across the lawn of Robin's memory mansion and seeped through the cracks of rock outside Raven's memory tower. Bursts of flame erupted from a place far beneath the surface of her tower. Circus music wiped lingering wisps of thought from the area surrounding Robin's manor. The dreaded hour had come; Raven's Despair had been inspired and in her throws of feeling, summoned the core of depression which so scorched Raven's subconscious. Robin's Fear fed his grief, grown as weeds from the lawn, with tall manifestations of loss as branching vines reaching into the high abyss of cloud over their bonded minds.

Storms sliced up the current thoughts that bustled about in the atmosphere of their minds, paralyzing everything. Their emotions had all been frozen like their Passions and Hatreds, save for Raven's Cleverness, Robin's Fear, and Raven's Despair. Raven's Cleverness took the box holding the two gems and flew from the tower. She found Raven's Courage, frozen in place, and focused the gem that she had gotten from Wrath and Hatred with dark power to unfreeze her.

"Thanks for the assist," Courage said with a cocky smile.

"Certainly. Take this and wait for my signal," Cleverness instructed as she handed the gem to Courage.

"Copy that," Courage replied, taking the gem.

Cleverness shot up into the stormy sky and dodged bolts of red lightning, soaring through the dark clouds until she was over Robin's manor and then she dropped, landing in the backyard beside gravestones. Robin's Fear was poised beside his frozen Confidence. Cleverness took a step forward and Robin's Fear snapped to attention with his bo staff pointed toward her.

"What are you trying to do?" his Fear asked.

"Paranoid? I'm only here to help," her Cleverness said.

"You didn't tell Robin about this part of your plan," his Fear said.

"No, I didn't, and couldn't if I wanted it to work, he trusts Raven, and that should be enough for you," she said.

His Fear lowered the bo staff, but remained at the ready if she did anything out of order. She focused her dark power through the gem she had gotten from the two Passions and unfroze Robin's Confidence.

"Hey, thanks," his Confidence said.

"Don't thank me just yet. I need you to get Fear to come with us; we need to take him to Raven's Courage, then find Despair," her Cleverness said.

"You're expecting trouble?" his Fear asked.

"Not quite expecting, anticipating a possibility," her Cleverness said.

"We'll deal with it, let's go," his Confidence said.

"Maybe we shouldn't," his Fear said.

The ground beneath their feet shook violently. Storm clouds overhead rolled and lighting struck at several points around the tower. …

"It seems we may not have much time left," her Cleverness said, "This ritual can only last for so long."

Taking off for Raven's tower, the three emotions raced over the bridge, through the open door, and met Raven's Courage in the halls. They made their way to the stairs and went down, deep into what Cleverness had dubbed 'the Catacombs.' Here, relics of awful memories were stored and secured. Doors in this place all had elaborate locks. The air was thin, yet it felt to Robin's emotions as though they were being held by the throat and a set of fingers would threaten strangulation. Down here, Raven had tucked away every memory of Trigon, every aspect of him that stained her. Continuing through dungeon corridors, they began to run. Sounds of their footfalls grew louder and they dared not stop.

Busting through a set of double doors, they entered a great chamber where Raven's Despair stood before a cube of red light, cradled in sculpted stone, depicting Trigon's clawed grip. Robin's Confidence and Raven's Courage grabbed Robin's Fear by the arms, dragging him over to Raven's Despair, as her Cleverness walked alongside them. Despair turned and looked at them.

"I hoped you wouldn't make it. He did not expect you to," her Despair said.

"If you are referring to Trigon, he is dead and gone; all that remains of him is locked away down here. Though she cannot forget him, we will make sure that his presence remains here, for all intents and purposes, out of mind, and out of sight," her Cleverness said.

"He isn't gone," Despair said, pointing to the cube.

Cubes like the one Despair pointed to were housed in a few places in Raven's tower, all served to give her visions of the future. This one had been stolen, tainted, and long since hidden away in a place Raven would never think to look. The other cubes are activated by thought and meditation, this one was set to respond to emotions and memories that entered 'the Catacombs.'

"Yes, he is gone, that isn't his, it's Raven's, her father just took it as his, and we're taking it back so can we fix it," her Courage said.

"No. You're not," her Despair said.

A siren-like wailing roar cut through the air and deafened all other sounds. Smoke poured from the glowing cube and swelled about the room. A figure swung on a rope from one end of the room and flew to the other. A second figure joined the first and the pair began to swing together in sync. They performed in the smoke. The emotions sat and watched as the shrouded figures swing and maneuvered, putting on a show. Acrobats.

Robin's emotions stood deathly still, anticipating the next part of the scene to play out as they had seen it play out a million times over in Robin's memories. The shrouded acrobats continued their performance, beyond the part where it normally would have ended.

The smoke thickened and a low blaze of fire ignited from the ground, Trigon's frame was visible to the emotions through the flames and smoke. His body didn't move, but his head followed the acrobats swinging through the smoke before him. In one motion, Trigon seized both acrobats in the grip of his fists and leapt back up by the cube. He squeezed the captured pair.

Without another moment's hesitation, Raven's Courage and Robin's Confidence launched themselves at Trigon. Raven's Despair flew after Raven's Cleverness. Robin's Fear sat and watched on helplessly as Trigon fended off Courage and Confidence with blazing blasts of red flame that shot from his eyes. Cleverness dashed behind columns as Despair chased her, trying to get the box that Cleverness held under arm.

Avoiding the blazing attack from Trigon, Courage and Confidence struck where they could find an opening – Courage blasted Trigon's head with dark power, Confidence landed a crushing blow to Trigon's gut with his bo-staff. Trigon stood un-phased, and tightened his grip, slowly crushing the Graysons in his fists. Robin's Fear looked at the glowing cube and then over to Cleverness, who shot dark blasts back at Despair, who seemed possessed, as she dodged every shot. Walking over to the cube, Robin's Fear reached out and took it in his arms. The action directed Trigon's gaze to Robin's Fear.

"That artifact belongs to me, as the gem belongs to me," Trigon said, "Put it back."

Shaking, but more afraid of what Trigon's success would mean than Trigon himself, Robin's Fear ran off toward the door with the cube. Trigon followed Robin's Fear, with Courage and Confidence at his heels. Cleverness flew up toward the ceiling and went through it using her power, Despair following her closely. Busting through doors, Robin's Fear dashed through the Catacombs, determined to reach the stairs. Trigon tore through the stone walls as though they were paper, storming after Robin's Fear. Courage grabbed Confidence and flung him up to Trigon's head, where Confidence slammed his bo-staff through Trigon's ear canal. Trigon howled and swung to hit Confidence, but missed and slammed his fist into the wall. It bought Robin's Fear some time to close in on the stairs to the upper levels.

A door to the side of Robin's Fear was flung open and Slade leapt out, knocking Robin's Fear to the ground and pinning him to the floor.

"Robin. Getting sloppy. Disappointing, I was hoping for a challenge," Slade said.

"T-try this instead," Robin's Fear stammered, decking Slade in the face with the cube.

Robin's Fear squirmed and kicked free of Slade's hold and continued to the stairs. Hearing Trigon's thunderous footfalls behind him, he tore up the stairs. Reaching the top, he raced through the halls and up the long spiral staircase to the floor where Raven and Robin were lounging. Robin's Fear kicked the door to the lounge open and threw the cube to the couch, catching them off guard. Raven recognized the cube and took it in her hands, she turned it over in her hands and stared at it with a grave look on her face. Robin looked at it quizzically, then over to his Fear, who had crawled over to sit at his feet before the fireplace sweating and panting.

"What's that?" Robin asked Raven.

"A piece of my foresight, looks like it's been corrupted by my father. That explains a lot. Where was it?" Raven asked as she turned to Robin's Fear.

"In the Catacombs…under the…tower. Fix it. Hurry…others in trouble," Robin's fear said, still trying to catch his breath.

Raven nodded and focused her power on the cube, and after a couple minutes it changed from glowing red to glowing pure white like the other cubes in the tower.

Cleverness felt the cube's power change and she opened the box she carried as she ran from Despair. The gems lit up and unfroze the other emotions. Despair jumped on Cleverness and had her on the floor when Wrath blasted through a door into the hall where they were. With a flick of her wrist and a flash of her eyes, Wrath had Despair in chains. Raven and Robin's Passions unfroze and flew down to help Courage and Confidence pacify Slade and Trigon. The Graysons faded from Trigon's grip, back into memory. Wrath imprisoned Despair in the same cell to which she was once confined. Raven placed the cube on a pedestal beside one of the bookcases in the lounge and locked it in place.

"Will you be okay now?" Robin asked.

"No. Better than okay," Raven said, "time to get out of our heads."


	14. Sweetheart

Chapter 14: Sweetheart

"Again I find myself in restraints built by my own emotion. When I break free, when I'm let loose, I will take my longing for what I have been holding back from and make it real. I want to feel alive again in a place of trust, in that, I know I'm safe. Complete control has eluded me, the moment it finally belongs to me, I want to make as special as I can. If he helps me, he makes me the happiest I've been in my life, and now that he shares his mind with mine – he'll know it's true. I know I can't say it yet, it's too soon, I know he won't either; I want to show him. I think I'm ready. I hope I don't make myself look like an idiot." – Raven's private thoughts from her own journal, written after their lunch date.

A jolt of energy shot through Raven's body and shoved her awareness back from her mind. She floundered in confusion before she realigned her focus on herself. Her physical senses eluded her, she couldn't smell, hear, feel what may have been touching her, speak, or move. All she felt was her power, surging through every space in her body like it never had before, as though her veins had been bound in barbed coils and electrified. As her heart beat and pumped blood through her, a shock would follow, and she fought to remain aware with every jolt. Her emotions scrambled in her mind to grapple with the new currents of power. Free from her father's bonds, power previously reserved for the demonic control he had sired in her was now hers to channel.

Accommodating additional energies takes its toll on the body, especially if it is unprepared to host the extra burden. Still, her senses were denied to her. Raven tried to grasp anything she could use to reconnect to the world, and found the nerves in her muscles and body. She couldn't move, but she could feel her body being held, being shaken roughly in a tender grip. A pair of hands rested over her heart and neck. An ache in her head and the pit of her stomach pounded with another jolt of power and pulse of blood. Her emotions had connected and were resuming control of her mind, focusing her power to restore senses. This is taking too long, she thought, what did we do?

The strong scent of sweat and hair-gel awoke her sense of smell, breaking her confusion and centering her aura. She associated the smell with the shaking, on the one holding her. Robin. Only Robin, she thought as her heart leapt. In her concern for her loss of senses, she hadn't thought to wonder if Robin had been experiencing the same thing, she was relived at least he was fully conscious. Their bond remained intact. Even if she wasn't fully conscious yet, she felt his worry over her current state. It was too hard to tell how long she had been like this with him awake, but she judged his concern by the desperate shake he gave her. She could feel the vibrations of his voice, but not the sound of it, nor the words he spoke.

Multiple shocks through her system tore into the skin on her forehead surrounding her gem and it burned. As though a needle pierced her flesh and scratched her skull, she would have yelled and groaned in pain, instead, she was gifted with a soft, light ringing in her ear which quickly subsided and she could hear again.

"-you, so don't do this, not to me. Wake up…I'm not moving until you do, not going anywhere, just move for me," Robin pleaded.

She didn't need to sense his emotions to know what he felt, how he felt. Her power changed, morphed, and stopped binding her. It soothed and warmed every vein, every nerve and vessel. Her emotions took the reins of her new powers and passed them to her. In her grip, she centered the flowing energy and directed it through her system, restoring the last of her senses.

With a groan, she opened her eyes and latched her fingers around one of Robin's wrists. His eyes lit up and he smiled a new smile, the one he would always mean for her. She saw his face and knew that smile for what it was, learned it: the perfect upward curl of both sides of the mouth, pressed out slightly, almost expectant of being met with another pair of lips. Her feelings for him swelled around Passion and the ideas he had given her by the fire were firmly placed at the front of her mind. Not yet, she thought, I should meditate, make sure my mind is okay, and that is done best without anyone else around me. She moved to get up, but he held her firm.

"Can I get up?" Raven asked.

"Depends. Where are you gonna go?" Robin asked.

"My room. I need to be alone, to sort out what happened," she said.

"No, you don't. You're staying here, until I know you're okay," he said.

"That an order?"

"Does it sound like one?"

"A little. I'll come back in a while, I just need to recover."

"You will. And that is an order."

"Okay. Can I get up now?"

"Trying to see if I can too, pretty exhausted."

He wasn't exaggerating, he was sweaty, and still sweating. She was just as sweaty, if not more so, her hair clung to her, and the spikiness of his hair had gone, his hair draped around his head as she hadn't seen in a long time. She moved to get up as he did, but they both slumped back down against the side of his bed with a groan.

"Together," he said.

They helped each other get back on their feet and he walked her to his door. She quickly slipped out and walked down the hall toward her room. She regretted leaving him after what happened, but it couldn't be helped, she had to see to her own recovery. Even if she was a mess. She would get cleaned up once she was through and join him later. What time was it anyway? Probably late. Hard to tell with no windows in the hallway. She passed Cyborg's room and wondered how the rest of the team was handling Gotham, it had been a while since Robin got an update, or told her about it. She wanted to be there too, to not be working through issues with her mind, at least she had Robin to help her.

Once at her door, she went into her room and stared blankly at the mess that her powers had made of it. Tiny cracks had formed in parts of the walls, furniture was askew, even her floor looked worse for wear. She found the journal that she had been writing in with Robin and placed it flat on the bookshelf in front of a row of other volumes. They hadn't written much lately, too busy spending time together. Not that she was complaining, lunch had been fun, as had the morning, and what she could remember of the night. Raven crossed to her dresser and looked at herself in the mirror.

If she hadn't already planned on having a shower, she knew she needed to take one now. Her leotard was soaked, slick against her skin and she was happy it wasn't a lighter color. Her hair drooped more than hung with a few stray strands poking out. As for her cloak, part of it nearly stuck to her back, and the rest of it was dry. It may have been the only thing that was dry. She traced the gem on her forehead with the tips of two fingers, sliding them down to the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes and took a breath. She slipped into her thoughts, winding through the feelings and physical sensations to the now, her center, and took another breath.

As Raven meditated in her room, Robin paced in his. He had cleaned up the stones and the other materials Raven had used for the ritual and left them assembled neatly by the door, ready to go back where they belonged. Even after having gone through the trials within the halls of their minds with her, he still had trouble grasping that it happened at all. Connections, inspirations, and a stabbing headache had awaited him after he got past the disorientation of being put back into his body. The difference in his awareness before the ritual compared to after was shocking to him. He had yet to tell Raven, but he could sense her, and her mind once she awoke.

To one unprepared for such an ability as he had been, his notion as to how it worked was slow to form. He thought of it in terms that his parents might have been able to tell him, as much as he wished they could be present to do so. One headspace would swing and perform on tightropes, ladders, and other high-flying acts in concert with another, having to act solo, but also as a duo when contact was made – necessary for the most awe-inspiring tricks in the performers' arsenals. When he would swing and his mind would twist or bend with hers, he would glimpse facets of her current state of well-being – emotions, thoughts, even strong sensations. Unlike an acrobat, though, he was not controlling when he swung, or when he stepped out onto the tightrope.

Before she left, his mind had swung into hers, and he felt her true urges, regret to go, and irritation at herself for making the right decision even though it wasn't one she wanted to make. He knew what he should be doing too, but he wasn't as bent on following self-imposed rules as she had been. She did what she had always done, thought of her powers and the damage they could do unchecked, and went to check them. He knew it before she did, her power was stretching out to reach the places presented to it within her, more energy, and a deeper reserve.

Little from the ritual had escaped his memory and a spark of inspiration danced first in his mind, then his eye. It could wait, he thought. He sat on his bed and started removing his cape, mask, and gloves, then struggled to get his soaked shirt off. Better already, he thought, and sniffed. His room smelled more like Beast Boy's than his. Fix it later, should check in with the team, he decided, and reached for his communicator. He stopped mid-motion and reconsidered. They're being managed, his micro-managing would only get in the way of his old mentor's plans and habits at this point. No point stalling then, he told himself as he stood up and walked out of the room.

Raven was lost in her meditation when she heard Robin knock on her door. She opened her eyes and sighed, didn't she tell him? Alone, she had to be alone for this. It worked better for her, always had. He opened her door before she could get halfway there. She stopped short upon seeing him, as he looked frustrated, as well as naked from the waist up. Her eyes betrayed her as they were lost in the defined, sculpted muscles of her boy wonder. If he picked up on where her gaze was, he didn't show it. He closed the door and she opened her mouth.

"Thought I told you, I want to be alone," Raven said as she crossed her arms.

"Yeah, well, I don't. And I know that you really don't either," Robin said.

"Oh? Can you read minds too now?" she asked dryly.

"Just yours I guess," he said.

She paused, she assumed he was kidding, but it didn't sound like he was.

"Really? Know what I'm thinking now?" she asked.

"Not sure how I did it. I know when you were leaving, you wanted to stay, but made yourself go, because you know what your powers will do unchecked," he replied.

"Umm…this-well, this is a surprise. Seems the ritual did more than I meant it too."

"Looks that way. Your powers got a boost too."

"They did."

She tapped her fingers on her arm and thought as she looked at him, he might get to peek inside her head randomly, it breached a boundary she never thought anyone but her father would touch or threaten. She shifted on her feet, uneasy and discomforted by the idea of another intrusion, she had just ridden herself of the most destructive force in her life and mind, and traded it for someone else. Someone different, better by far, sure, but she didn't like anyone prying in her mind – it could lead to more than prying. Or not, it was still unsettling.

"Are we okay?" Robin asked.

"Sure. I suppose I'll have to get used to it, if it keeps happening, do you think you can?" Raven asked.

"With time, maybe. But back to my point, I know you don't want to be alone," he said.

"More to the point, you're here for me to…admit to what I want?" she asked.

"You might as well, before I beat you to it."

She bit her lip and looked him over, as sweaty and tired as she was, she could feel her blood pumping, her longing spurring more energy to serve her for what she wanted to do. She admired the plains and contours of his chest, arms, and shoulders. The sight of his glistening bare chest, all the tight, defined muscles, sent a warm jolt through her, from her chest to a space between her thighs. She wanted to be out of her leotard, to close the distance between them, torment him as he was tormenting her with a seductive, slow walk. Instead, she uncrossed her arms and extended a hand to him, a simple invitation.

A smirk appeared on his face as he crossed over to her, taking in the sight of her, tracing her curves in his mind. He wanted nothing more than to indulge in her pretty flesh as he continued to fantasize, or anticipate. He stepped awkwardly as his mind slipped into those thoughts and he almost lost balance. She chuckled softly at his misstep as he reached her. He laughed too and put his arms around her. She put her hands on his chest and glanced down between them, running her fingertips along the outlines of his toned flesh. He looked down, watching her fingers move, anticipating their smooth movements until they came to rest on his pecs. Her eyes met his. His hands remained firmly placed just above the small of her back as he smiled at her.

"I'm giving myself to you, because I want you, but as much as I want to show you how I feel…I don't want you to regret this or to make you do anything you don't want. Are you sure about doing this?" Raven asked.

"Are you kidding? I think I want this more than you do. There's no way I'd regret it, but," Robin started.

"What?" she asked.

"Nervous," he said.

"What? You? Nervous?"

"Yeah."

"I am too."

"Can't have that."

"Know a way to loosen me up?"

"Maybe a few."

He cupped her head and kissed her lips. His kiss was coaxing, confident, and eager, the taste sweet on her tongue. He could kiss her until time itself was buried and done. She lost count of his kisses. Until she broke away, bit his lip, and her mouth sought his neck. She sucked and nibbled at his neck, leaving tiny bite marks in her wake. He tipped her head up and brought his mouth to hers once more, drawing his fingers up along her back until he found the concealed zipper. He pulled it as far as it would go. She got out of the leotard in a flash. Along with it went her boots, gloves, and yellow belt.

Robin's gaze drifted down, taking in the sight of Raven in nothing but her black bra and panties once more. This time, he could look and touch. He appreciated the new perks. She watched as his eyes scanned her, and was pleased as they flicked back to hers and his lips curled into his widest smile. Her hands were already working to undo his utility belt. It fell to the floor with a loud thud and she slid his tights down over his growing bulge. He yanked his tights down and took them off, along with his boots and stood for her to admire him as he had her.

Her gaze was focused on the outline of his package through his red boxer-briefs and she let a tiny grin appear on her face before she parted her lips and pressed them to his lips hungrily, catching him off-guard. Their mouths mated, teeth and tongues savage with desire. Heat settled in his groin. He was so hard it started to hurt. She broke away and spun around, letting him undo the bow and hook of her bra. While she slipped it off, he traced the simple, black raven inked on her back with his fingers. She turned to face him again and her face flushed red as his mouth fell open.

"See something you like?" she teased.

"I uhhh…don't think 'like' covers it…or them," he replied.

"Still nervous?"

"Nope."

She giggled luridly and kissed him. He cupped her soft breasts and broke away. Her nipples tightened into sharp peaks as he raked his teeth along her neck. He kissed down to the valley between her breasts. His mouth closed over one rosy-gray nipple, his fingers working the other. She let a soft moan flow from her lips. He stepped back as she gently pushed him from her, kneeling and mercifully freeing his hardness from his boxer-briefs. Her slim fingers circled his cock, feeling its urgent heat, before sliding it in her mouth. It was if her mouth was meant to hold his length and girth. He moaned and bit his tongue as she treated him with her mouth, her head bobbing on his hardness slowly before she released him and stood once more.

"Don't want you to be done before we start," she said with a grin.

"That would be bad," he agreed.

"Very," she said.

He grabbed her hips and slid his fingers along her ass as he walked her back to her bed. She sat on the edge of the bed as he knelt before her. He pulled her panties off and nuzzled the inside of her thigh. His fingers stroked her, sending shivers of ecstasy through her. He treated her too. His mouth never stopped working her wet center.

In their minds, Raven's Passion flew into Robin's Passion and branded herself against him, assaulting him with kisses and holding him tightly. Raven was being pushed closer to her limit, she urged Robin off the floor and he pressed the tip of his hardness into her slick slit between her spread legs.

Unprepared for the painful pleasure, she winced and whimpered. He paused and withdrew, careful he wasn't doing something they'd regret, but she was bold, insistent, guiding him to back her most intimate place. He plunged into slick warmth, a scalding heat that gripped him. She was surprised at how her body sucked him in, holding him tight. Their bodies joined as one. The bed groaned, but hardly as loud as she did. Deep, steady strokes shook her. She moaned deep in her throat, biting back whimpers. His sweat-dampened body covered her own, and they kissed open-mouthed, panting as their bodies worked. She squirmed beneath him and wrapped her legs around him, he couldn't pull out if he wanted to. Which was more than fine with her.

The world dimmed around the edges. Her body bowed to the searing sensation as her toes curled, her back arched and a soul-shattering orgasm stole her senses. Bones within her tingled as the pleasure reverberated through every part of her and he melted in her heat. He strained body and mind, as he fought the rush that built within him until he finally dug his hands into her hips, pulling her hard into his final thrust.

Robin tumbled off Raven, lying panting beside her. She breathlessly twisted and laid her head and arm across his chest. Her body felt deliciously sore. She raised her head to consider his exhausted eyes. He breathed her name and pulled her tighter to him. They lay that way together as minutes ticked by.

She smiled up at him when he squeezed her gently. They locked eyes and exchanged the same thought through their bond: I'm home, and I'm yours. With the last boundary broken, they knew each other so utterly that understanding and acceptance of one another was natural to them. She only wanted to be his, and he just had to be hers. He was the first to speak.

"You know, we kinda have to get up eventually," Robin said.

"What for?" Raven asked.

"Uhh, it's still the middle of the afternoon…dinner and bad guys are still things, right?" he said.

"Oh. Can we let Wally deal with the bad guys? So we can order pizza and stay here," she said.

"I don't know if he can handle all of them himself."

"Jinx is supposed to be joining him, they can handle things."

"Hmm."

"What?"

"Just learned something."

"And that is?"

"Either I'm a terrible influence on you, or you really like sex with me."

"Not true."

"No?"

"You're a great influence on me."

"Gotta be the second one then."

"Mhmm."

She kissed his chest and started tracing the lines of his abs. He ran his hand along her back, massaging her tenderly. She hummed contentedly under his touch and curled up closer to him. He smiled and stared at the ceiling above them, wondering how he was going to make himself get up. He didn't want to move, he didn't want her to move, and they would both have to at some point. She was having the same issue, her desires were directing her attention, and she had no intention of ignoring them. Not while he was here.

"I really like sex with you too," he said.

"I'm glad," she giggled, "Think you might like showering together?"

"One way to find out," he said with a grin.

With some difficulty, she stood up and stretched before bending down and collecting her things.

"Not sure why you wear that cloak, Raven, it covers a very nice ass," he said as he watched her.

"As does your cape, Richard," she said as she stood up.

Mention of his name made him sit up and stare at her with different eyes. Only she could inspire new feelings in him, sensations and longings that he didn't think he would have. She was checking her communicator when he stood up and encircled her with his arms from behind. He kissed her cheek and held her close.

"Should we shower now, sweetheart?" he asked sweetly.

At 'sweetheart,' she froze and her face burned with red as she blushed deeply, it caught her off-guard. She didn't think she'd let a honeyed word like that one escape from a lover's lips and let them live afterward, but to her surprise, and partial horror, she liked it.

"What did you call me?" she asked, her voice soft and small.

"Sweetheart," he whispered into her ear.

"If you call me that in public, you're dead," she said.

He chuckled and kissed her cheek, then took her hand and led her into her bathroom. They took the steamiest shower, stealing glances and bumping into one another. It didn't take much to turn the steamiest shower into the longest shower they'd taken. He regretted working out earlier, she was testing his endurance at this point.

Barely drowned out by the sound of the water pouring over them and onto the floor, their combined groans echoed in the room. She was glad for the strength of the hanging rack in her shower as she held it once her legs trembled and shook beneath her as he drove her to another orgasm. His hands dug into her skin and his hips struck hers hard when he clenched and pulsed in her warmth again. Their lips met in a steamy, slick kiss as they panted.

Once clean and toweled off, they put on two dark blue bathrobes that Raven had stashed under the sink, then decided to head to the kitchen to see what they could have for dinner. She bent down and checked the minifridge. He stood behind her and looked at what they could eat when the door opened and grabbed her hips when she stood up with a container of leftover pizza.

"Is there more wine, too?" he asked.

"Should be," she replied.

"Good, save it for later tonight when I can get you all to myself again."

"Am I that irresistible? Isn't twice enough today?"

"Nah, it's not. And I can resist you fine."

"That so?"

"Mhmm."

"Then why are your hands on my ass again?"

He turned red and let go of her reluctantly. She turned around and wound her arms around him with a sweet smirk on her face.

"You didn't have to let go," she said.

"I'll have to at some point though," he said.

"I know. Won't be able to be all over each other when our friends are around."

"Nobody else is home now though."

"Very true."

She pressed her lips to his softly. His hands returned to their place on her rear and he pressed himself against her as they kissed. Caught up in the moment with one another, they missed the sound of the living room doors sliding open and only once they closed did they think they heard something. A small gasp alerted Raven's ears, but it was too late to do anything to hide.

"Dude, way to go Robin!" Kid Flash exclaimed happily.

Robin broke away from Raven and covered his eyes with his hand, hitting the counter top as he jumped back in surprise. Raven stepped off to the side and did her best to hide the red in her cheeks, but the stoic expression couldn't double as an emotional mask. Her Passion was still dancing with Robin's in their minds, and she didn't feel the need to stop them. Her eyes fell on Kid Flash and a shocked Jinx standing next to him, looking at Raven in awe.

"You should have called ahead," Raven said as Robin collected himself.

"We did a couple minutes ago; you guys didn't answer! I said we were coming tonight anyway," Kid Flash said.

"Did you two shower together?" Jinx asked, shaking off the shock.

"Yes, we did," Raven said.

Still covering his eyes, Robin turned toward where Jinx and Kid Flash were standing.

"Uh, good to see you guys," Robin said.

"Man, how come you didn't tell me she was your girl? Wouldn't have wasted my good lines on her," Kid Flash asked.

"She wasn't my girl then and we're keeping this to ourselves for now," Robin replied.

"So, this is new?" Jinx asked.

"For the most part," Raven said, "and you have no strong lines, Wally, they all limp."

"Killing me babe, killing me," Kid Flash said, clutching his chest as he exaggerated a heart attack.

"Nice. Can we still crash here, then? We can all catch up too," Jinx said.

"Yeah, you can, just let us go change and then we'll all get some dinner," Robin said.

"Sweet, this is gonna be awesome," Kid Flash said as he went over and hopped onto the couch.


	15. The Penguin Trap

Chapter 15: The Penguin Trap

"Elation. Pure excitement and drive swept between the connection from the tower to the manor, both Passions were glued together at the hip and lips, rarely leaving the other's side. Other emotions looked on as they reordered both mental structures to reflect the new state of mind that had been captured. Even Wrath had difficulty focusing on her task of rebuilding things considering the new pleasures being flushed through the bond between minds. Contentment wrapped itself around Raven and gripped Robin as well. Anything not related to their newfound lust was going to be viewed as a distraction, it could take only a grave threat to tear the two Passions from one another."

Once fully dressed in their uniforms again, Robin and Raven treated Jinx and Kid Flash to dinner – pizzas from the best restaurant in the city, which they had on speed dial. The smell of sausage and pepperoni wafted through the tower as they snatched the boxes and hauled them upstairs. Busting open the boxes, they tore off their own slices and sat down around the table. Kid Flash tried to get the group to eat on the couch, but Robin wasn't having it.

Though the pizza was delicious as usual, Robin wasn't enjoying it as much, his head was elsewhere. He couldn't completely tear his attention away from Raven. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed every motion she made. He would focus on the shift of her body, or the changes in her breathing as her breasts rose and fell. Try as he might, he couldn't completely ignore what she was doing. She must have noticed or was having a similar problem, as one of her hands left the table and settled on his thigh. When he caught her looking at him, she would give him a suggestive smirk and then shift back into the conversation with Jinx and Kid Flash. He threw an arm around her back as he took a bite of pizza and felt her fingers shift on his leg. He did what he could to resist as the conversation continued.

"So, we handed Mammoth off to the cops and they're asking me who I am, I'm like, what the hell? I'm a Titan, I've been around for a while, and they ask me if I'm replacing Beast Boy and I said no way, too busy trying to keep up with Jinx to save a city," Kid Flash explained.

"More like I have to keep you on a leash or you go crazy," Jinx said.

"Not all the time," Kid Flash said.

"Most of the time," she said.

"Yeah but you know you love it," he said.

"I'd love it if you stopped doing it to try and impress other girls," she said with a frown.

"Nothing wrong with a flirt or two, right Robin?" he asked.

"Not sure I'd say that," Robin replied.

"It happens, if you mean it or not," Kid Flash said.

"Sure, but I don't think you're flirting once or twice," Robin said.

"Maybe. Who knows? Bet I could flirt with you and you wouldn't pick up on it," Kid Flash said.

"I would," Raven said.

"But you know, like, everything, right?" Kid Flash asked.

"Hardly," Raven replied.

"You have to if you figured out how to get through to Robin," Kid flash said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Robin asked.

"Oh, uh, nothing. Just saying, haven't seen you this lovey-dovey with anyone before her," Kid Flash said.

"I don't know, he and Starfire were kinda cute for a while," Jinx said.

"I dunno," Kid Flash said.

"What? They were," Jinx protested.

"Not like this. They can't stop looking at each other," Kid Flash said.

Raven's cheeks flushed with red and Robin cleared his throat as he adjusted his cape.

"Can we change the subject? I want to know what Mammoth and Gizmo were really doing here in the city before a major crime boss is scheduled to show here. It's not a coincidence," Robin said.

"Ehhh, that's not interesting," Kid Flash said, "Mammoth and Gizmo are always trying shit to get Jinx's attention nowadays. You and Raven as a couple…that's juicier."

"Wait, what crime boss?" Jinx asked.

"Major player from Gotham, the Penguin is coming to make sure some weapons get shipped off to Joker," Robin replied.

"When?" she asked.

"Soon," was all he said before taking another bite of his pizza.

Jinx eyed him and then looked to Raven, who was trying to act like she was just focused on her food, but Jinx knew better. While Raven hid her emotions completely, some things are universally true about people, and Raven was no exception. As Robin and Kid Flash talked, Jinx watched as Raven's eyes would flick over to look at Robin when she was sure he wouldn't notice, and focus on his face or his groin. Robin's eyes did the same to Raven when there was a lull in the conversation. Smitten, more so than she and Wally were. She wondered if Wally noticed that too, or if he was too focused on his food.

After dinner, the group moved to the couch and turned on the TV. There wasn't much on aside from a football game and a new action show. Jinx frowned immediately upon seeing the jerseys of the players for the football game, Wally's favorite team was playing. Sure enough, he talked Robin into leaving it on the game for a while. Raven sighed and tilted her head back against the couch. Robin slid his arm behind her back and gently tipped her toward him, so her head rested against his shoulder. They sat like that until half-time, then started talking again to get through the commercials.

"You're pretty quiet tonight," Robin said to Raven.

"Mhmm, just relaxing I guess," Raven said.

"Need anything?" he asked.

"Well…you could move your hand," she replied.

He frowned and let go of his grip around her.

"That's not what I meant," she said after a few moments.

He chuckled and ran his fingers down her side, scooting over to tip her more toward him, and resting his hand on her ass.

"Better?" he asked.

"Mhmm," she said.

"You have a free hand, and I'm right here," Kid Flash said to Robin with a smirk.

Surprise was plastered across Robin's face and both girls were staring daggers at Wally. Jinx was used to his casual flirts with strangers, as it was in passing and rarely meant anything, but this sounded sincere and directed, and it got her to clench her fists. Kid Flash waited as Robin took a moment to process things and finally looked over at him.

"That uh, was a joke, right?" Robin asked.

"Nope," Kid Flash replied with a shake of his head and another smirk, "I mean it."

"So, Raven was right, you um, have a thing for me?" Robin asked.

"You knew about this?!" Jinx asked Raven.

"I heard a rumor. Wally's emotions told me all I needed to know from there when we ran into him," Raven said, "didn't think he would act on it."

"You're acting like I made out with him, just asked if he would touch me," Kid Flash said.

"But we're dating and so are they!" Jinx protested.

"Right, dating, not married," Kid Flash responded.

Before anyone could say something in return, the alarm sounded and the room flashed red. The screen changed from the sports network to a satellite image of the city with a red blip blinking down at the docks, near Penguin's warehouse.

Robin was off the couch and in front of the monitor before the others could stand. He hit a few keys on the computer and brought up traffic cameras from the area. His eyes scanned the streets until he spotted several trucks and a limo discreetly parked in an alley near the street. It hadn't occurred to him until now that they would need to apprehend Penguin as he was leaving, not while he was still inside. Everything had to go smoothly with the weapons shipment or Joker would get word something was up. Robin turned to the three Titans behind him.

"No time to brief, we need to move. Jinx and Kid Flash, you're with me. Raven, you're up, let us know as soon as you've set up those tracers," Robin said, heading for the doors.

The three followed him out of the room and managed to catch up with him in the garage. Raven levitated toward the garage door as Jinx and Kid Flash joined Robin in the T-car.

"So what's the plan?" Jinx asked Robin.

"Once the shipment is on its way out of the city, we'll need to take down Penguin before he or any of his cronies can raise an alarm. I can take Penguin and his bodyguards, I need you two to round up the rest of his crew and back me up, Raven will be handling crowd control and any outliers," Robin said as he started the car and opened the garage.

"Cool, but what if this goes south?" Kid Flash asked from the backseat.

"It's just Penguin, he's not prepared for us. Out of his element," Robin replied.

"And if there's any surprises?" Kid Flash asked.

"They're the ones who have to worry about bad luck tonight," Jinx said as she stretched her arms.

"Like I said, Raven is handling outliers," Robin said, "Penguin isn't getting away. Not in this city."

The T-car launched out of the garage with Raven flying alongside it. Once on the mainland, Raven nodded to Robin and broke away to make for the warehouses. Robin watched her fly off and wondered if her improved powers were ready for this, they hadn't been field tested yet. He felt Jinx's hand on his shoulder and he turned his attention to her and the road before him.

"Worried about her messing up?" Jinx asked.

"No, if anything I'm worried she'll do too well. Her powers are dangerous," he replied.

"Yeah. So? So are Jinx's powers," Kid Flash pointed out.

"Jinx's powers haven't just been given…well, steroids," Robin said.

"I'm sure she can handle them," Jinx said.

RrrrrrrrrrRR

Deep breath, she thought. Raven stood on the edge of a crane, looking over the wide view of the docks from high above. A chill night breeze set her cape flowing and her hair lightly blowing. The moonlight reflected on the water shot toward her as a spear through the waves. She caught a hold of her power in her mind and twirled it, her senses spiraling outward toward the gray bricked warehouses. Everything was sharp and crisp in every which way she could sense it, the pulses of every thug that littered the interiors were blinking in her head. She could have mapped out their locations within the structures if she was given paper and a pen. Another sign of her newly amplified power.

She flew down from her perch and went through the roof of a warehouse using her dark portals. Hovering over crates, she closed her eyes and swam through the thoughts of the armed thugs patrolling the area, leaping from one to the next until she located him: Penguin. The tiny, bald little Englishman with the crystal monocle and cane stood on a platform by a carrier vessel. She stealthily flew along the walls until she was positioned near enough to hear him, and locate the weapon crates that were marked with Slade's brand. Penguin was speaking to the ship's captain, standing next to another cane-wielding Englishman she recognized. Mad Mod.

"I don't care what they say, the dock is mine and I'm shipping these outta here if I 'ave to go up there and shoot the bastard foreman myself!" Penguin bellowed in his cockney accent.

"Not so fast," Mad Mod said, tapping Penguin on the head with his cane, "this is a quiet operation, so if you go and blow that bloke's bloody brains out, it will alert those pesky Titans."

"We can take two of the little runts, the clown said that the rest of them are in Gotham with the Bat," Penguin said.

"Explains why it was so easy to bust outta the slammer without the duckies knowing," Mad Mod said.

"Doubt they'd notice, not like you're a major threat," Penguin said, "now go tell Bane we're gonna need an hour before he brings the car 'round for us."

Mad Mod fumed but stormed off toward the door to the warehouse. Penguin went over to a desk up against the wall and sat in an office chair, putting his feet up. The crates on the ship were left unwatched, save for when the guards passed by them to avoid walking past Penguin. Raven watched and waited until she had an opening. She opened a portal beneath her and lowered herself down, appearing through a second portal behind the crates on the ship. She took out the tracers Robin gave her and placed them along the underside of several crates and on the floor of the ship before activating them with a tiny remote no larger than a quarter. With one last glance, she went back through another portal and appeared on the roof.

Crouching on the roof, Raven took out her communicator and called Robin.

"Tracers are set," Raven said as his face appeared.

"Yep, looks good on my end, I have a read on them. Anyone see you?" he asked.

"No, but we may have a problem," she said.

"What is it?"

"Mad Mod is here too, helping Penguin. And Bane is their bodyguard."

"Damn. Penguin we could take easily, Mad Mod too is pushing it, but taking Bane too is gonna be next to impossible, he isn't going down easily," Robin said.

"We've beaten worse odds," Raven said.

"We have," Robin said with a smile, "Come to us and we'll get ready."

"On my way."

"Oh and Rae, nice work."

"Thanks."

She smiled and shut her communicator, then flew off toward the spot she knew the others were waiting. It wasn't far, Robin had parked the T-car in a secluded alley, and was kneeling on a rooftop just above it. He smiled again as she came into view and watched her glide down to meet him. Her hair fluttered softly in the breeze as she touched down. She looked around and then back to him.

"Where are the other two?" she asked.

"Waiting by a traffic light down the street," he replied.

"So we're alone?" she asked, kneeling down beside him.

"Mhmm. Why?"

"I heard Penguin say they wouldn't be leaving for an hour. Seems we have some time to kill."

"That so?" he asked with a smirk.

"Mhmm," she said as she looked from his masked eyes to his lips.

"What should we do?" he asked.

He put his arm around her and gently massaged her shoulder, drawing circles with his thumb on her back.

"Talk about what Wally said back at the tower?" she suggested.

"I think that can wait until later, when we're done here," he said.

"Fine. So, if not that then what?"

"Just this," he said as he leaned in and caught her upper lip between his.

She pressed her lips against his eagerly, sliding her legs out in front of her, wrapping her arms around him as he straddled her waist and lowered them both down on to the roof. He put his hands flat against the roof on either side of her, deepening their kiss. She bit his lip, then gripped his uniform in her hands as he bit back harder. She broke away and looked up into his masked eyes. He grinned down at her.

"Sucks that they had to drop in when they did," he said.

"I agree, but why's that?" she asked.

"I was going to pick you up and set you on that counter, tear off that blue robe, kiss you everywhere, and fuck you for hours," he replied.

"Mmm, shame you didn't get the chance, I would have loved that," she said, biting her lip.

"As soon as they leave," he said with a smirk.

"I don't know, you might have trouble getting rid of Wally."

"Still don't believe he did that," he said.

"Would you?" she asked.

"What?"

"If we weren't dating, or if I was somehow okay with it, would you give him what he wants?"

"Hadn't thought too much about it. Don't think I'd be okay with that."

"Hey, it's fine if you had, he swings both ways and we're fine with that, you could too. I'd still love you."

"Uh, are we really talking about this?"

"Messing with you boy wonder, but I meant what I said."

"You're going to owe me for that when we get back to the tower."

"Sounds like fun to me," she said with a grin.

They heard the engines of the limo and trucks start up one by one, breaking the otherwise silent night. So much for another hour, Raven thought. Robin helped Raven up and they watched the street, waiting for the convoy. A ship's horn sounded as the carrier of weapons began to pull away from the dock.

A few moments passed and the first truck came into view, followed by the limo, and a third truck. Jinx was poised waiting for the first truck to make it to the traffic light. Once it had crossed the intersection, she blasted the pavement and traffic light with her hex spells. The road fractured and curved up, a wave of solid rock, and the traffic light curled around the truck and held it in place. The limo and other truck stopped as the first truck was hit by the road, the engine crushed. Kid Flash dashed to the truck, pushed the dazed thugs onto the road, and made his way to the truck at the back.

Aiming at the sunroof of the limo, Robin fired his grapple and pulled the glass away, then lobbed a smoke pellet inside, followed by a flash grenade. He followed the blast of light into the limo and landed in the middle of the stretch seating, in front of the blinded Penguin, Mad Mod, and Bane. He grabbed Penguin by the legs and fired his grapple back up at the top of the building. He pressed a button and he was pulled from the limo dangling a howling Penguin as he went.

"So, Penguins do fly," Robin said as he reached the roof and put Penguin down.

"Oi! Birdy-boy! When I get my hands on your little throat, I'll make you wish you hadn't been born! You little shit! Where the hell are those idiots guarding me?" Penguin shouted.

Kid Flash ran and jumped through the other truck's windows, kicking the occupants out the other side before they could aim their guns. Jinx used her hex spells to jam their guns and tie them up with a nearby parking meter that wrapped around them. Bane leapt out of the limo's sunroof and landed feet from Jinx. She backed up as Bane prepared to charge her when Kid Flash sped over and kicked him from the side, the force knocked him back against the wall on the far side of the street. Jinx launched a hex spell at the wall and bricks came falling from the wall onto Bane as he was getting back up.

The limo door swung open and Mad Mod emerged, using his reality bending cane to create a bottomless pit beneath Jinx's feet, she started to fall and grabbed the ledge.

"You found quite a pot hole, rotten fortune there, my ducky," Mad Mod said.

Bane got up and charged at the right moment to knock the wind out of Kid Flash before he could do the same to Mad Mod. Robin swung down with his bo staff at the ready, smashing the titan container on Bane's back. Aiming his cane toward Kid Flash, Mad Mod launched an arrow with the head of a live snake as the arrowhead. A barrier of black power appeared and shielded Kid Flash from the blast. Raven hovered overhead, her eyes glowing white and her hands encased in dark power. Mad Mod laughed and pointed the cane at Raven and she fired a beam of dark power at the top of the cane as he began firing a jet stream of bullets from it. The beam shredded each bullet as it pushed onward to the tip of the cane. Mad Mod held the cane with both hands and strained trying to keep the stream going.

Kid Flash helped Jinx out of the hole as Raven turned up the power, pushing more dark energy into the beam. Mad Mod gripped the cane for dear life as the approaching beam was now inches from the cane. A car flew toward Raven, she ended her beam and flew out of the way as the car slammed into a building behind her. Robin leapt at Bane with his bo staff extended, slamming it into his gut, and Bane was sent reeling. Kid Flash and Jinx joined Robin as they stood in a group to launch a combined attack.

"That's quite enough of that," Mad Mod said.

Slamming the cane down on the ground, he had cages of cement surround the three grounded Titans. Trapped, the three tried to move the cement, Jinx tried to blast through it, Robin smashed his bo staff at it, and Kid Flash tried to channel his speed into his foot as he kicked at the cage. Nothing was working. Bane and Mad Mod turned their attention to Raven.

"We will kill them. Give up and save them, or die now!" Bane bellowed.

"Come on, lass, we haven't got all bloody night," Mad Mod said, pointing his cane at her.

Raven looked down to Robin with an apologetic expression. She clenched her fists.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven yelled.

The street lights went out suddenly and Raven now towered over the two criminals, horns protruding from her head, four vicious red eyes glaring down on them, and dark tendrils spilling from beneath her closed cloak. She phased in and out of view as they blinked, getting closer. Bane leapt to slam his fist in her face, a tendril wrapped around his leg and slammed him to the ground, then lifted him, then slammed him down again, and again. Over and over, Bane was smashed into the pavement. Mad Mod lifted his cane and he grew to the height of Raven's demon form. He swung his cane like a sword on her tendrils, making them vanish and reappear. A large dark bird claw erupted from the earth and tore the cane from Mad Mod's grip, then crushed it to dust in its fist.

In an instant, the cement cage vanished, but the trio stood where they were – two of them out of fear, the third out of trust. Robin watched as the dark claw grabbed Mad Mod and slammed him against Bane, leaving the two crumpled and broken on the sidewalk. Raven's four eyes met Robin's gaze. This time, Robin saw Wrath just behind Raven's eyes. He smiled and approached Raven as Jinx and Kid Flash looked on in wonder and terror. A tendril wrapped around Robin's waist and hoisted him up so his face was level with Raven's. He didn't struggle.

"You trust me," Raven observed, her voice deep and distorted.

"And I love you," he said, reaching his arms around her and leaning in.

The two kissed and Raven shrank back to down to the ground, her horns receded, and the tendrils vanished. Their feet touched the pavement and she threw her arms around him while greedily kissing his lips. Her two additional eyes faded away and wrapped her leg around his, pressing herself against him. He broke away and opened his eyes to see her back to normal and beaming in his arms. Jinx and Kid Flash cautiously joined them by the two incapacitated crooks.

"Could she always do that?" Kid Flash asked.

"Yeah," Robin replied, "just not in a way she could control. Now she can."

"Remind me not to piss her off again," Kid Flash said.

"Let's uh, get all these guys to the jail, as fast as we can," Robin said as Raven traced circles on his chest and gave him a look he had only seen once so far.

"I got it covered man," Kid Flash said as he dashed to get the T-car.

Jinx looked after him, then turned back to see Raven nipping and kissing down Robin's neck. She grinned at Robin who had turned red and had an awkward smirk on his face. Raven didn't seem to care that Jinx was standing there, her emotions were still high, Passion hopped up after Wrath and was feeding her thoughts, and Cleverness turned red and sighed, then stepped in to talk Passion down a bit.

"Raven?" Robin asked her.

"Yes Robin?" Raven asked, running one of her hands down his back.

"This is really nice but, we're not exactly…alone here," he said.

"Fine, I'll stop," she said as she let him go, "for now."

"Let's get Penguin off the roof and ask him a few questions before we turn him over to the cops," he said.

With a shrug, Raven flew up and snatched Penguin by the collar and dragged him to the edge of the roof. He struggled and kicked, but couldn't break away. She flew down with him and dropped him at Robin's feet. Jinx stomped on Penguin's fingers and grinned down at him. The tiny boss screamed and grabbed his hand. The T-car pulled up and Kid Flash hopped out to drag Bane and Mad Mod into the back.

"So, Cobblepot, what's Joker up to?" Robin asked.

"Think I'd be dumb enough to tell ya, Bird boy? Clown's mad, ain't he? Crazy as they come. What makes you think I know what's goin' on in his head?" Penguin responded.

"Not buying it. He'd let you in on his scheme if he got you to come all the way here," Robin said as he took out his bo staff.

"He paid a lot, and I've only got half. Course now that you're here, you'll stop the ship and I won't see the rest," Penguin said.

"Today's your lucky day," Jinx said, "we're not stopping the ship. He'll get his stuff and you'll get your money, thing is, you'll be in jail here when he wires you the cash."

"Wait. You're really lettin' the clown have all those guns? You're madder than he is," Penguin said.

"The guns are going back to the person you stole them from and Joker is going away for the rest of his life," Robin said, "nothing for you to lose now, might as well tell us what you know."

"Not a bloody chance, think I want Joker or Scarecrow findin' out I squealed?" Penguin asked.

"Scarecrow?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, Scarecrow, ya daft cow, ain't you heard of him?" Penguin asked.

Robin turned from Penguin and walked over to the T-car as he took a deep breath. He put his hands on the hood and pressed into the car, then he took another deep breath. Scarecrow and Joker, I need to be there, the others are in over their heads, Robin thought. He had to tell Batman, but he hesitated as he pulled out his communicator. He won't let me go if I call, but if I show up and tell him, he can't keep me away, Robin thought. Robin's Cleverness was arguing with his Hatred and his Passion, there was no right answer. He wanted to go, but he was needed here, and the others had Batman's protection. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned his head, his gaze met Raven's and she squeezed his shoulder.

"Guessing things went from bad to worse?" Raven asked.

Robin only nodded as he tensed. She frowned and looked back at Jinx, who was helping Kid Flash get Penguin into the back of the car.

"You want to be there," she said, "but we can't leave the city undefended."

He nodded again. She sighed and spoke again.

"I want to help them too," she said softly.

"They have help, I just need to know it's enough, because if its not… anything that happens is my fault," he said.

She shook her head.

"You can't blame yourself for something that hasn't happened yet, that's a waste of time. So, why don't we take these guys to jail and then head home?" Raven suggested, "I'll cheer you up."

"A little sad when you have to be the one cheering me up," he said.

"That a shot at my sunny disposition?" she asked dryly.

"Maybe," he replied.

"Get in the car, or I'll throw you in," she said.

"In a second, need to make a call first," he said.

Nodding, Raven walked off to tell Jinx and Kid Flash that they were leaving. Robin opened his communicator and called Batman. His mentor's cold face appeared almost immediately.

"What have you learned?" Batman asked.

"Scarecrow is working with Joker on this too, not sure how or why, but this just went from bad to worse. What are things looking like in Gotham?" Robin asked.

"Still tracking Joker down, once we know where he is, this will be over quickly," Batman said.

"Right. The shipment is on its way, and I'm bringing Penguin and Bane in," Robin said.

"Bane too? Interesting. Good work. I'll get Penguin and Bane transferred to Gotham once they're in custody. I'll keep you updated, but unless you find anything else, your job for this is done, we'll take it from here. Am I clear?" Batman asked.

"Clear," Robin confirmed reluctantly.

"Good. I'll call you when our situation changes," Batman said, "get some sleep."


End file.
